Key areas throughout Henry County might become subject to what authorities are calling enhanced law enforcement tactics this year.
It’s part of an annual effort to proactively jumpstart law enforcement in Henry County by identifying areas that have increased instances of violent crime and drug- and gang-related activities, according to Henry County Sheriff Wayne Davis.
Funding this effort is a $18,448 grant, awarded by the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant and administered by the Henry County Board of Supervisors, which approved the funding in late November.
Named after Edward Byrne, a New York officer killed in the line of duty in 1988, the program has funded law enforcement projects for decades.
According to Davis, the grant program provides money to law enforcement agencies across the country for projects relating to policing and the courts. In Henry County, funds are spent on overtime pay for officers patrolling criminal hot spots.
The grant has become a tradition of sorts at the sheriff’s office.
“We’ve received it for a number of years,” Davis said, adding that the department has pursued the grant for more than a decade.
The grant allows officers to be more selective in their law enforcement, which entails things like active patrols or other proactive tactics.
Henry County defines high-crime areas as places with an elevated rate of violent crime or activity related to gangs or drugs. Davis said the latter is of particular importance to his department.
“I’m sure we will eventually go toward the aggressive pursuit of drug dealers,” Davis said, adding that stemming the flow of narcotics is a department priority.
These areas are identified by what Davis called a “case-by-case basis,” meaning crime hot spots from previous years might not be considered hot spots in a current year. Hot spots are determined by recent activity as well as feedback from the community.
“I wouldn’t be at liberty to release where those specific locations are,” Davis said, explaining the various identified areas are part of pending investigations.
Davis did say, however, that recently his department used hot spots to identify areas in the Chatmoss community experiencing high numbers of vehicle break-ins.
“We put officers in those areas during peak hours,” Davis said.
Davis said they are likely to move on to other areas.
“Crime generally ebbs and flows,” Davis said. “There is not one particular area that is a continuous problem.”
Davis said his department has not identified any hot spots going into 2024 but that could change in the coming months.
The sheriff’s office has a September deadline to spend the appropriated funds. Davis said if it doesn’t spend the full grant amount, the excess funds will be returned to the administrators.
