Officers coming on board as businesses grow in city


Thursday, April 12, 2007
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Officers coming on board as businesses grow in city

By JANET OLANGO
Contributing Writer

Recent reports from the Holly Springs Police Department show a high percentage of reported cases of domestic violence in the city.

Lack of jobs for the breadwinner could be a contributing factor to domestic violence situations in homes, according to police sources.

“When people are working, and they have an income, most of the time they are happy. This takes the stress away and happy people do not commit crimes,” said Patricia Selman, assistant police chief for HSPD.

Selman hopes the influx of businesses in Holly Springs will create more jobs for people.

“People need jobs to make them feel good about themselves and the new businesses are a good thing for Holly Springs’ residents,” she added.

Nevertheless, with an increase in businesses other crimes could increase as well, due to the traffic of people in the city.

“Anytime you have business coming to a community, the crime rate goes up,” added Sergeant Grant Glover.

According to Glover, the crimes include burglaries in cars and department stores, and aggravated assaults.

Apart from adults, the department has also dealt with juvenile cases of shoplifting and simple assaults.

“Since school will be out in about 40 days, we will keep an eye on juveniles who are up to some mischief so as to prevent such crimes as shoplifting which are very common with juveniles,” said Glover.

He said the HSPD, fortunately, rarely deals with murder cases; it has only dealt with one murder investigation over the past four years.

When asked about drug-related cases, Selman said that upon notice of suspicious behavior with the residents, most of whom they are familiar with in the community, they advise the concerned individuals to mend their ways.

“Holly Springs is a small town; we come into contact with a lot of people. We don’t target people, but when we notice suspicious behavior that could suggest drug problems or activities, we speak with the individuals and ask them to get help before they get in trouble,” said Selman.

Holly Springs’ sprawling businesses also means there is an increase in the population, and security becomes an issue.

“With the growth of a city, there is need for more officers,” said Selman.

The department is in the process of hiring officers to tackle the tasks ahead.

There are four police officers graduating from the Police Academy who will soon be ready for the job.

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