Law enforcement officials: Rise in burglaries tied to economy

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September 3, 2010

By Brian Livingston / blivingston@themeridianstar.com The Meridian Star The Meridian Star Fri Sep 03, 2010, 06:00 AM CDT

MERIDIAN —     Meridian Police Chief Lee Shelbourn and Lauderdale County Sheriff Billy Sollie have seen this before.

   Each time the economy tanks, burglaries, thefts and larcenies spike. Shelbourn said he has talked in recent days to other police chiefs in other towns and cities in Mississippi to see if they are also experiencing the same occurrences. His conclusion after those inquiries is that everyone in the law enforcement community is in the same boat.

   "Burglaries are up everywhere," said Shelbourn. "The bad economy, people losing jobs, it has had an effect on how many cases we've been working."

   Shelbourn said detectives are presently working 29 active burglary cases. He said six arrests, mainly juveniles, have been made with more likely to come. Shelbourn said it may be revealed through later investigations that some of these incidents were caused by some of the same suspects already in custody. He said other warrants for the arrest of individuals wanted for questioning have been issued.

   Shelbourn also noted there have been 129 burglary calls received by Central Dispatch in Meridian. He pointed out that doesn't necessarily mean all those calls turn out to be actual burglaries.

   "Many times the call either turns into something else or nothing at all," Shelbourn said.

   As for the county, Sheriff Billy Sollie said larcenies and burglaries are up. He said in comparing data from the same period in 2009, the county is up by 29 burglaries (161), and 22 larcenies (122).

   "Each time an economic downturn occurs, we can get ready to work more of these types of incidents," said Sollie. "It is a simple case of people taking advantage of an opportunity."

   Sollie said a prime example was the rash of auto burglaries that plagued a county subdivision earlier this summer.

   "The majority of these people we've arrested in these cases have a criminal history," Sollie said. "We've said this before but we always urge residents to do everything they can to protect their property."

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