Local police report staffing shortages, community outreach and policy updates

Local law‑enforcement leaders told the Police Accountability Board about community outreach, arrests and staffing shortages during routine agency reports.

Captain Helmer of the Caroline County Sheriff's Department reported the agency attended several community events since the last meeting — including town Christmas parades, "Shop with a Cop," school career presentations and Read Across America events — and described a series of policy updates. "For the sheriff's office, we had a total of 187 arrests. 3 of those were felonies, 184 of those were misdemeanors, 8 were DUIs," Helmer said, and he reported the department has 50 sworn personnel, currently three vacancies and three people in the academy (with additional recruits planned for a July class).

Helmer said the department updated multiple policies (including its K‑9 policy to reflect new training aids and updates to vehicle‑pursuit procedures per state guidance) and added routine administrative policies covering leave, nepotism and travel reimbursement consistent with county policy. He invited board members to bring officers in for recognition events once the department completes a revamp of its commendation process.

Lieutenant Jackson of the Denton Police Department gave a brief status update and said the department was "busy" with ongoing investigations and short staffing, noting they were short two officers and actively recruiting. Jackson said he would provide a formal report to the board later.

Chief Lennox of the Greensboro Police Department described a youth basketball program (a 12‑week program and end‑of‑season tournament), a planned March 26 ribbon‑cutting for the department's relocated station, and collaboration with area organizations for events such as "Coffee with a Cop." Lennox summarized quarterly policing statistics: "We had 8 arrests, 1 for violation of a peace order, 1 for assault second degree, 1 for driving without a license, 4 bench warrants, and 1 felony drug case," adding that officers recovered about 70 small packages of heroin from a suspect who had traveled from Delaware.

Lennox also described policy additions for the town: GPS trackers on town vehicles (intended for fuel and safety monitoring, with monthly reporting to the town council) and a surveillance‑camera policy for the department's new cameras; he said those policies are posted on the town website for public review.

Board members asked operational questions about bike and foot patrols in small towns (Helmer said bike patrols are used and scheduling is flexible), the hours of school‑zone speed cameras (Lennox said the camera runs "6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday, holidays too" in front of the school), and recommended public recognition events for first responders.

What happens next: departments will continue recruitment efforts and provide further documentation as requested by board staff. The PAB did not take any formal policy votes on the department reports at the meeting.