SBI and Law Enforcement Partners Collect 7.4 Million Pills From Operation Medicine Drop

RALEIGH – The State Bureau of Investigation reported that nearly 7.4 million doses of expired or unused medicine pills were collected across the state during Operation Medicine Drop Sept. 27.

The pills and medications are being destroyed at an Environmental Protection Agency-approved incinerator.

“This effort to properly dispose of old prescriptions prevents drug abuse, keeps harmful drugs out of the reach of children and stops dangerous chemicals from ending up in the water supply,” SBI Director B.W. Collier said. “This coordinated effort is the safest way to get rid of unneeded medicines.”

The State Bureau of Investigation co-sponsored the pill take-back event along with Safe Kids North Carolina, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and state and local law enforcement agencies.

In addition to providing drop-off locations at its eight troop locations, the State Highway Patrol provided vehicles to transport the medication.  The DEA paid to have the medications destroyed.

This year, Cary Police Department lead the state with approximately 947,000 dosage units collected, topping Durham’s collection last year of 773,500 dosage units.

Medications are the leading cause of child poisoning, according to Safe Kids, a non-profit organization that helps parents and caregivers prevent childhood injuries. Environmental experts say that flushing medicines down the toilet contaminates water supplies and hurts aquatic life.

According to DEA, medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to misuse and abuse, and a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.

“The SBI will sponsor additional pill-drop operations throughout the year,” said SBI Special Agent in Charge Donnie Varnell of the Diversion and Environmental Crime Unit. “Prescription narcotics are the leading cause of drug overdose in the country, and we encourage others to dispose of medications responsibly through these periodic pill disposal programs.”

Yadkin County – Officer receives highest certification

RALEIGH — Officer Allen Grant Day of the Yadkin County Sheriff’s Office was awarded the Advanced Deputy Professional Law Enforcement Certificate by the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Education and Training Standards Commission on Sept. 5.

The North Carolina Sheriffs’ Education and Training Standards Commission was established in September 1983. The purpose of the commission is to upgrade the capabilities, competence and proficiency of sheriffs’ departmental personnel through programs, standards and procedures involving employment, improvement, career development and retention of the sheriffs’ office personnel.

The commission maintains certification files for more than 25,000 deputy sheriffs, detention officers and telecommunicators.

The purpose of the Advanced Deputy Professional Law Enforcement Certificate is to recognize the level of competence of sheriffs and deputy sheriffs serving North Carolina sheriffs’ offices, to foster increased interest in college education and professional law enforcement training and to attract highly qualified individuals into a law enforcement career.

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Pitt County Sheriff’s Office receives grant to fight domestic violence

GREENVILLE, PITT COUNTY –  The Pitt County Sheriff’s Office has been awarded a grant by the U.S. Department of Justice to aid law enforcement officers in fighting domestic violence.

The nearly half a million dollar grant makes Domestic Violence Homicide Prevention Initiative site, which means the office, in partnership with Greenville Police Department, the Center for Family Violence and UNC-Chapel Hill, will train officers to better evaluate the lethality of domestic violence.

“This will multiply the number of specialists that we as a community have in the field to assist victims of domestic violence thus saving lives,” said Sergeant John Guard wit the PCSO.

Domestic violence victim turned advocate Christy Adams was in attendance. She lost her son when her estranged husband shot him to death then turned the gun on himself.

“It’s wonderful to know that everyone here is working together to stop it to prevent more families from losing family members,” said Adams.

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Sheriff’s Citizens Academy taking applications

The 2015 Sheriff’s Citizens Academy is now taking applications for classes beginning Jan. 27, Sheriff Charles McDonald announced Tuesday. The purpose of the academy is to provide information to the public on the duties, requirements and responsibilities of the office of sheriff in Henderson County.

There are 13 classes scheduled, all of which are on Tuesday and start promptly at 6 p.m., ending at 9 p.m. All classes are held in the Sheriff’s Office Law Enforcement Center training room. Class size is limited to 40 students, and classes will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Topics include K-9 and animal enforcement, bomb squad and SWAT teams, communications, patrol, detention, civil process service, gang and drug prevention programs and emergency preparedness. The class fee is $30, which includes a binder, handouts, graduation meal and class recognitions at the final session.

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In-car cameras installed in Durham sheriff’s patrol vehicles

Durham_camerasDurham, N.C. — The Durham County Sheriff’s Office installed dashboard and backseat cameras in 31 of its 40 patrol vehicles.

Deputies will also be outfitted with microphones that can capture audio while away from the vehicle.

The cameras are activated when the vehicle’s emergency lights are activated, when the vehicle goes over 85 mph or is involved in a wreck. Deputies can also record manually through the camera or microphone.

Video from the cameras are wirelessly downloaded to a secure server and kept for 30 days unless used in a criminal case.

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Gov. McCrory makes passing a cell phone to a prisoner a felony

McCrory_passing_cell_phonesPossession of cell phones by local jail or state prison inmates also becomes a Class H felony

Raleigh, N.C. Sept. 18 – Giving a prisoner a cell phone is now a felony under legislation signed into law today by Governor Pat McCrory. Previously, the offense was a misdemeanor. The North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys praised the increased penalty in the wake of a kidnapping case which was directed by an incarcerated prisoner through communications sent by a cell phone.

Among those attending today’s bill signing was Wake County Assistant District Attorney Colleen Janssen, whose father was kidnapped earlier this year.

“We must do everything we can to protect those in the criminal justice system who protect us,” Governor McCrory said. “The state’s District Attorneys provided valuable guidance and support for this legislation, and North Carolina will be safer because of their efforts and those in the General Assembly who crafted and passed this bill.”

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North Carolina Cuts Prison Time for Probation Violators, and Costs

PRISONS1ROANOKE RAPIDS, N.C. — André Duckett, 43, had an unpleasant surprise when he came in to see his probation officer. After missing some previous appointments, he had just failed a drug test, the officer told him, and he was going to spend the next three days in jail.

He was dismayed that day in March, Mr. Duckett said. But in the end he was grateful that his violations had provoked only this sharp jolt.

A few years back, they might well have led to formal revocation of his probation, stemming from an assault conviction, and sent him to prison for months. Instead, after experiencing what officials call a “quick dip,” Mr. Duckett was able to keep his job as an electrician and, so far at least, to avoid more violations.

“It was a wake-up call that this is serious business,” Mr. Duckett said in an interview here in rural Halifax County, near the border with Virginia.

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Area sheriffs take ALS ice bucket challenge

Five local sheriffs took the ALS ice bucket challenge aboard the U.S.S. North Carolina on Wednesday.

New Hanover County Sheriff Ed McMahon, Brunswick County Sheriff John Ingram, Pender County Sheriff Carson Smith, Columbus County Sheriff Lewis Hatcher and Bladen County Sheriff Prentis Benston took the challenge before challenging the state’s other 95 sheriff’s to do the same.

According to New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office Spokesman Sgt. Jerry Brewer, the sheriff’s office received multiple challenges from the community and thought it would be best to them all at once with the sheriffs of surrounding counties.

Hometown Wilmington Media’s Linda Wylde and Jim Whitmeyer, morning hosts on 93.7 and 106.3 FM The Dude, challenged McMahon last month. District Attorney Jon David challenged Ingram, spokeswoman Emily Flax said.

“We as your sheriffs,  are glad to do this,” McMahon said. “We are glad to get cold and wet…to raise awareness for ALS.”

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Federal Grant to Develop Safer Schools Project

School_SafetyMoore County will serve as a conduit for a $1 million federal grant that the state will use to develop a Web-based program to help police, fire and rescue personnel better respond to emergencies at public schools.

The Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday afternoon to adopt an agreement with N.C. Emergency Management to develop the Safer School Risk Management Project, which will be statewide.

School systems in each of the state’s 100 counties will be asked to provide schematic diagrams of the buildings on all of its campuses, which will be loaded onto a secure, Web-based, GIS-enabled program that will be developed using grant funds from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, according to Mike Spraybery, director of N.C. Emergency Management.

The data will be continually updated as existing school buildings are expanded and new ones are constructed, he said.

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Seeking Safety: Jail Program, a First in N.C., Includes Classes Behind Bars

Classes_behind_bars

Project Re-entry has been so successful that officials decided to try it at the Cabarrus County Detention Center.

The jail program, which began in 2012, is the first of its kind in North Carolina. It was made possible through a grant from the Governor’s Crime Commission.

The two-year pilot program has been tailored to fit the needs of inmates serving sentences for misdemeanor convictions. Instead of 16 weeks, the inmates are offered classes for 11 weeks to help them find jobs and to support them upon their release.

Rebecca Sauter, coordinator for Project Re-entry, acknowledges that the jail program has faced bumps along the way.

Prisoners are more humble than jail inmates, most of whom spend much less time locked up, Sauter said.

But Cabarrus County Sheriff Brad Riley says the new program has been successful.

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