This week, I want to spotlight Capt. Steve Lawson and all his detectives in the BCSO Criminal Investigation Division (CID). They’ve done a terrific job of recovering stolen property, reducing burglaries and closing cases. According to Capt. Lawson, CID has made 50 percent more arrests over last year for aggravated burglaries.

For example, just looking at the months of July, CID reported that during July of 2006, there were a total of 24 aggravated burglaries in the county with only one arrest. This past July, 2007, there were a total of 17 aggravated burglaries with eight arrests. I think that’s significant, considering the budget constraints under which we’re operating. Capt. Lawson credits the CID’s success to better motivated and better focused detectives, as well as the BCSO actually having more deputies out on the road.

To that, I would add, it is also due to the determination of more Bradley County citizens to take an active role in reducing crime. You are the eyes and ears of your community. If you see a crime or have knowledge of criminal activity, you can add greatly to the safety and security of our community by reporting  it to the Sheriff’s Office in a timely manner. We have a tip hotline set up that allows you to report suspicious and/or illegal activity in a way that will protect your privacy. Call (423) 728-7336. We here at the BCSO are giving you our best efforts and I feel like we’re showing positive results. By having the Bradley County community partnering with us, our efforts will be strengthened even more.

Another new development in the CID involves the crime lab. Capt. Lawson and I have agreed that the BCSO lab should  no longer conduct blood alcohol examinations or drug identification analysis. One reason for this is a lack of funding, but the main reason is we want to stop duplicating services at taxpayers’ expense. It makes no sense for the Bradley County taxpayer to foot the bill of providing the same services to area agencies that can be provided by the TBI lab in Knoxville just as quickly and effectively. So from this point on, the BCSO laboratory will no longer be conducting blood alcohol or drug identification examinations. Those will be forwarded to the TBI .

However, the CID will continue to develop and maintain a state-of-the-art crime scene processing unit to identify and collect evidence. CID will also continue to conduct latent fingerprint examinations, as this has proven to be a cost effective and extremely beneficial method in solving a number of local burglaries.

Next, I want you to mark your calendars for Saturday, October 13, when we’ll be having the big  Sheriff’s Family Day festival out at the TriState Exhibition Center . This will be a day of free food,  fun and festivities suitable for the whole family. In addition to pony rides, face painting, air toys, live music, exhibits and other fun happenings, we’ll be set up for voter registration. We’re also offering all elected officials in Cleveland/Bradley the opportunity to turn out in person and meet the public. We’ll be posting more details at the BCSO website within the next few days, so check in on a regular basis to  www.bradleysheriff.com

Meanwhile, I look forward to seeing you all a week from Thursday (September 27) at Oak Grove School for our fourth and final Town Hall meeting . We will begin promptly at 7:00 p.m. and I’ll be there to address any questions, concerns or comments you may have regarding the Bradley Count Sheriff’s Office. For directions to the school, click here .