Rainsville Police reports 100 percent increase in arrests during March

Rainsville Police reports 100 percent increase in arrests during March

PHOTO: Rainsville Police Chief Kevin Smith conducts the first session of the Citizen's Police Academy. (Tyler Pruett | Southern Torch)

By Tyler Pruett, Managing Editor 

tyler@southerntorch.com

RAINSVILLE, Ala. — At this week’s meeting of the Rainsville City Council, Police Chief Kevin Smith updated on the statistics of the department for the months of February and March.

Smith was able to report that the number of arrests in the city had increased dramatically in that time frame. Chief Smith reported an increase in arrests of over 100 percent in the month of March (29 arrests in February compared to 67 in March), most of which he said were drug related.

“We’ve seen a lot more arrests for drugs, mainly for crystal meth, with some marijuana being recovered,” said Smith.

Part of the decrease in accidents is due to an increase in patrols at the intersection of Love Road and Highway 35. (File Photo)

Smith cites, “drug interdiction operations” being carried out in the city as one of the factors resulting in more arrest. The department seeks to disrupt the flow of illegal narcotics moving through the city down the Highways of 35 and 75. Rainsville officers are doing their part to tackle the drug problem by being alert of suspicious vehicles that pass through town.

“Much of it spins off from regular traffic stops,” explained Smith.

Smith was also able to report that auto-accidents had decreased from 15 wrecks in February to just 8 in March. Chief Smith stated that this is due in large part to a traffic grant the city received to help reduce accidents around the intersection of Love Road and Highway 35, at JoJo’s Quick Mart. An above-average number of fatalities and accidents are reported at the intersection.

“The grant allocated us funds for overtime to keep officers in the area for a period of time to help and slow everyone down,” said Smith. “Everybody’s flying when they get to the top of the mountain, which is why we see so many accidents there.”

The department is also moving to change their uniforms from the standard blue to a grey duty shirt and black pants. Although the colors are different, the change was more about officers having more durable uniforms than the old polyester. The new uniforms will be more resistant to tears.

The department held it’s first session of the “Citizens Police Academy,” on Tuesday night. The first session was an overview of the program and Chief Smith answered questions on different misconceptions of the public’s view of police officers. The next session will focus on patrolling, with participants getting the chance to go on patrol with a Rainsville Police Officer. Sessions will also be held on investigations and the final session will be with Judge Jeremy Taylor.