MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WTVF) — "Crossover crime" is a term law enforcement uses when policing out-of-towners. It’s something Mt. Juliet police say takes up a majority of their work.
I went to the middle Tennessee suburb where they attribute this particular crime fight to a key tool.
Off the busy North Mt. Juliet Road the women of Truleigh Scrumptious Sweet Cafe say they rarely see troublemakers.
“You wonder sometimes being a business of women all the time if someone thinks that might be an easy target,” said Joley Poore.
That's why she’s grateful to see the arrests and pull-overs happen outside their doors. “They’re (police) definitely working,” said Poore. “It makes everyone feel secure and safe.”
“Across all crime categories, over 90% do not live in our community,” said Mt. Juliet Police Deputy Chief Tyler Chandler.
About five years ago, Chandler says they started noticing a trend — police were investigating more crimes with vehicles like theft and break-ins.
“We started to look for solutions to cut back that crime and our solution was license plate readers…our crimes related to car burglaries and vehicle theft have gone down significantly. Other crimes such as shoplifting have dropped significantly,” said Chandler.
Last month's arrest records reflect another trend; with help from the license plate readers, about 90% of the suspects police arrested did not call Mt. Juliet home.
“If there was more accountability on criminals in other communities, we would likely see less crossover crime,” said Chandler. “We would love to see other jurisdictions use the same technology and we’re here to support them.”
“They could be coming here to commit another crime so hopefully they’re nipping it in the bud before it happens,” said Poore.
While the bake shop may deal with sinful sweets, they told me they’re thankful to know the police are taking care of the sinners.
Because of license plate readers, Mt. Juliet police estimate they've reduced crime by about 60% in the community.
The city of Nashville has approved LPR technology, but the funding for contracts is still being worked out.
If you have thoughts on this story email me at Amanda.Roberts@NewsChannel5.com.
