Dalton Police Blog

Kids Tour the Police Department

Business as usual at the Dalton Police Department was interrupted briefly Thursday morning for a tour group from First Baptist Church.  Kids from the summer daycare got a chance to meet officers from the department and also tour the Police Services Center.  Officers Brian Shirley and John Edwards showed the kids the department's Training Room, the Roll-Call Room, and the Patrol Division.  The kids also got a chance to check out the Interview Rooms.

Before getting some official Dalton Police Junior Officer Badge Stickers, the kids also got a chance to sit in a patrol car, check out the speed laser, and hear the siren. 

    

Officer Honored at Public Safety Commission Meeting

Dalton Police Officer Matthew Lowery was honored at Tuesday's meeting of the Public Safety Commission as the department's Officer of the Year for 2008.  The award was previously announced at the department's Employee Appreciation Dayon June 5th.

The Officer of the Year award is voted on by department personnel.  Lowery was nominated for his efforts to help with the recovery of a child reported kidnapped from Bartow County last November.  After being contacted by the Bartow County Sheriff's Office with information about a woman who had taken a child without the parents' permission, and a likely location for the woman in Dalton.  Officer Lowery and other department officers located the suspect's vehicle and took her into custody.

Click here to read more about Officer Lowery's award in the Dalton Daily Citizen, or here for an article from the Chattanooga Times-Free Press which also features the Dalton Fire Department's role in the recovery efforts after last month's parking deck collapse in Atlanta.

Below: Dalton Police Chief Jason Parker presents Officer Matt Lowery with the Officer of the Year Award for 2008 (click image for a larger version).

Join Us for the National Night Out on August 4th!

The Dalton Police Department will host the National Night Out Fair on August 4th, 2009 at the North Georgia Fair Grounds at 500 Legion Drive from 6:00-9:00 PM.  Admission is free to the public, and the event will feature plenty of free games and also free hot dogs provided by Outback Steakhouse.  Supplies will be limited, so guests are encouraged to arrive early.

The National Night Out is a great opportunity for members of the community to meet and interact with law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency services personnel to raise awareness of crime, gang, and drug prevention efforts and opportunities.

“We had a great turn-out for the event last year, and we’re hoping that even more members of our community join us this year,” said Dalton Police Chief Jason Parker.  “It’s a great chance for police officers and public safety employees to meet the people we serve and improve the way we communicate and talk about how we can better work together.”

In addition to the Dalton Police Department, the Dalton Fire Department, Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office, Whitfield County Fire Department, Whitfield County Emergency Medical Services, Whitfield County Emergency Management Agency, Safe Kids: Dalton, Amerigroup, and Allstate will all be participating in the event.

The event will feature inflatable play areas for children, and there will be free giveaways of important fire safety and crime prevention information which families can use to protect themselves and their property.  Free gun locks and free fingerprint kits for children will be available.

National Night Out is a nationwide event organized by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW) designed to "(1) heighten crime prevention and awareness; (2) Generate support for and participation in local anticrime programs; (3) Strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships; and (4) Send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back." More than 37 million people in more than 15,000 communities participated in National Night Out 2008.  For more information on the nationwide event, visit http://www.nationaltownwatch.org/nno/about.html.

To read more and watch video from last year's National Night Out event in Dalton, click here.

Tickets Are Still on Sale for Scholarship Dinner

Tickets are still on sale for the 2nd Annual Scholarship Dinner fundraiser to benefit the City of Dalton Public Safety Scholarship at Dalton State College.

Tickets for the event cost $10 each, and can be purchased at the Police Services Center at 301 Jones Street or from any Dalton Police Officer for Firefighter.  The dinner, which runs from 5:00-9:00 PM, will feature Flammini’s Italian menu items from the Dalton Depot.  Curbside take-away will be available, or guests are welcome to dine in at the Depot.  Musician Tommy Davis will provide entertainment from 7:00 until 11:00.

DPD Visits Salvation Army's Kids Camp

The Dalton Police Department paid a visit on Friday to the Salvation Army's Kids Camp.  Officer Forrest Jones, a member of the department's Patrol Division and Bike Unit, spoke to kids at the camp about the duties of a police officer and also different ways to stay safe.

Children also had the chance to ask questions about police work, and the different tools officers use on duty.  Officer Jones also showed off his patrol car and one of the department's patrol bicycles to the campers.

The DPD thanks the Salvation Army for the invitation, and also thanks to the kids for paying attention and asking great questions!

Below: Officer Forrest Jones speaks to campers at the Salvation Army's Kids Camp and shows off his patrol car.

 

DPD Chaplain Earns Honor at Seminar

Dalton Police Department Chaplain Donald Treick has been certified as a Master Chaplain by the International Conference of Police Chaplains.  Chaplain Treick received the honor last week at the organization’s 36th Annual Training Seminar in Knoxville, Tennessee.  DPD Chaplain Ray Camp also attended the seminar.

Chaplains Camp and Treick took part in seminar courses covering topics such as Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, Officer Death and Injury, Responding to a Crisis, and courses covering substance abuse.

More than 400 chaplains attended the event, many accompanied by spouses and children, representing different faiths from 10 different countries.

Below: Chaplain Ray Camp (left) and Chaplain Donald Treick (right) at the International Conference of Police Chaplains' 36th Annual Training Seminar in Knoxville, TN.

DPD Finishes 2nd in Running for Dr. Curtis McClung/Motorola Award of Excellence

The Dalton Police Department finished second in the running for the Dr. Curtis McClung/Motorola Award of Excellence, which is presented by the Motorola, Inc. and the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police (GACP) at the GACP convention on Monday. The Dalton Police Department was selected as one of three finalists in the state.

The award is presented annually to honor police departments which demonstrate innovative training techniques to accomplish a department’s mission and goals, innovative programs which impact the community and the law enforcement profession, programs which improve cooperation among law enforcement agencies, and programs or techniques which address an operational problem (a natural disaster, unique crime problem, etc).

The Dalton Police Department was nominated for Operation A.B.L.E. which began in June 2007 and continues today. Operation A.B.L.E. (Aiding the community in identifying crime, Building partnerships in the community, Locking up offenders, Enforcing the law consistently and Constitutionally) is the implementation of several different strategies to reduce gang-related crime, especially aggravated assault cases. Operation A.B.L.E. also addresses other disorderly crimes including illegal drug sales and use, prostitution, graffiti, immigration-related crimes (state forgery charges leveled against 23 individuals between June and September 2007 for working under fake documents—and cases are still being made), among others. Operation A.B.L.E. resulted in a reduction of the influence of gangs in Dalton.

To accomplish the goals of Operation A.B.L.E., the DPD employed the following strategies:

• Visited 450 residences to locate and interview possible gang members and their families-to identify them, their gang affiliations, known associates, and let the family know of their activities
• Reduced that down to 96 confirmed gang members; 54 in the City of Dalton
• Adopt-a Gang Member: Officers and detective assigned to continue personal visits to residence of gang members on regular basis to monitor, keep family contact
• Provided real-time access, with photos, to the Gang database for all patrol officers in their patrol cars via laptop
• Conducted GPS mapping data of all known gang members and provided that to patrol officers in their cars
• Conducted street-level prostitution and drug stings
• Conducted several Road Checks in all parts of city
• Held a series of public forums on gangs and immigration
• Provided crime data to citizens via Internet: a more informed, vigilant public sends a message that criminals are not welcome
• Increased officer presence in all areas of city
• Increased media presence via radio, television, print, and Internet

Prior to the implementation of Operation A.B.L.E., between 2005 and 2007 there were 88 gang-related aggravated assaults in Dalton. Between 2007 and 2009 that number has been reduced to 22 gang-related aggravated assaults. A citizen survey conducted by the Dalton Police Department in 2006 showed that 66% of respondents felt crime was increasing in Dalton. In a survey conducted in 2008, only 22% of respondents held that view.

Additionally, since the implementation of Operation A.B.L.E. in 2007, Part I crimes (Homicide, Rape, Robbery, Burglary, Larceny, Motor Vehicle Theft, and Arson) have decreased every year in Dalton. There were 1,625 reported Part I crimes in 2006, which fell to 1,520 Part I reports in 2007 and 1,391 in 2008. The department hopes to see another reduction in 2009.

The Winder, GA Police Department won the Dr. Curtis McClung/Motorola, Inc. Award of Excellence for it’s “Cop Talk” program. The other finalist was the University of Georgia Police Department and the Athens-Clarke County Police Department for the “Mission Indivisibility” Program.

Dalton Police Investigate Burglaries

The Dalton Police Department is investigating a series of burglaries in and around the area of Tyler Street, Boundary Street, and Chattanooga Avenue.  There have been at least four of the burglaries in the past two weeks, with televisions and jewelry stolen from homes. The burglaries all took place during daylight hours, when many area residents were at work, and may be related.

The Dalton Police Department encourages all residents to keep an eye out for suspicious activity in their neighborhood.  Anyone who witnessed suspicious activity such as vehicles or people moving televisions in the Tyler Street/Boundary Street/Chattanooga Avenue area in recent weeks is asked to please contact Detective Jason Bishop with the Dalton Police Department at 706-278-9085, extension 214.  You can also call the department’s anonymous crime “tip line” at 706-278-9085, extension 221.

DPD Bike Unit to Participate in Bike Rodeo Saturday

The Dalton Police Department's Bike Unit will participate in the Dalton Bike Rodeo on Saturday, July 18th from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm at the K-Mart on West Walnut Avenue. 

The event is hosted by Amerigroup in partnership with Safe Kids: Dalton, the Dalton Police Department, and the Bear Creek Bicycle Company.  Children will get a chance to ride through a safety obstacle course, getting safety tips on proper riding from Dalton Police officers.  Safe Kids: Dalton will have technicians on site to perform bicycle helmet fittings and checks, as well as measuring children to make sure they're riding the right bikes for their size.

There will also be free food and games for guests, as well as free bicycle helmets for the first 40 attendees with parents present.  Parents are encouraged to bring their kids' bikes to the event.  There will be bicycles available for children without bikes to ride through the bike rodeo course, but that supply is limited.

Dalton Police Seek Information in Theft of Lost Wallet

The Dalton Police Department is asking for the public’s help in identifying a man who investigators believe picked up and kept a lost wallet which contained nearly $800 in cash.

The incident occurred on July 7th in the parking lot of the Kangaroo service station at the intersection of Walnut Avenue and Airport Road at approximately 6:40 PM.  After the owner of the wallet wrapped up his transaction inside the store, he apparently dropped the wallet outside. The wallet contained $790.  Moments later, a heavy-set man with dark hair and a goatee wearing a white shirt entered the store and made purchases with cash.  Employees at the store said that he appeared to be digging through the wallet before approaching the counter.  He left in a maroon-colored SUV.  The images below were captured by the store’s surveillance system. 

If you have any information on this incident, please contact Detective Greg Bates with the Dalton Police Department at 706-278-9085, extension 137.