Neighborhood watch: Palmer police chief talks crime trends in the community

PALMER — More than 30 residents of Palmer gathered at the Palmer Train Depot for a Business and Community Watch program meeting. Palmer Police Chief Lance Ketterling presented the trends in crime in Palmer, along with what citizens can do to aid police in arresting criminals.

CRIME

Crime in Palmer is person-centric, according to Ketterling. While trends in property crime and theft statewide have left property owners looking for a better way to protect themselves, Ketterling said there was a decrease in theft in Palmer last year. However, 2017 saw the highest amount of thefts, 275, out of the last five years. Ketterling said that about two out of every three days, there was a theft committed in Palmer in 2017. The 10-year high was in 2008 when over 300 thefts were reported. Assault numbers were fairly stagnant, at only 92 reported assaults in 2018 compared to 97 in 2017. Disturbances also saw little change, but vehicle thefts did see a spike in 2017. Ketterling said that in 2017, 29 vehicle thefts were reported, many during the winter months when people leave their cars running to warm up.

“Thieves are opportunists,” Ketterling said.

Ketterling did note that while sex offenses are often fairly low, they are seeing an increase in reports due to the connections made by the Palmer Safety Resource Officer and students. Ketterling noted that drug traffic is still concerning with an ongoing opiate epidemic and a rise in the use of methamphetamine. PPD made its first seizure of over one kilo of meth late in 2018.

“We hear an awful lot at the police department that people are experiencing an increased amount of fear… what we want to do is dispel that fear and get people to understand that it’s still a safe place to live, you’re not powerless,” Ketterling said.

The Palmer Police Department serves the 5.5 square mile area of the city of Palmer and it’s 7,000 residents with just less than 30 members of the staff. There are 15 officers, three administrative staff, two on call officers, seven dispatchers, and two reserves but PPD is authorized up to six. On average, there are two to three PPD officers patrolling at any given time of day, but criminal activity may divert Police resources away. Ketterling said that an officer can expect to spend three to four hours, nearly half of a shift in completing a DUI case from start to finish. Ketterling stressed that PPD practices community oriented policing, getting to intimately know the people in the community that they protect and serve.

“New groups of people moving in can change the culture of a place very quickly,” Ketterling said.

CRIMINALS

Ketterling answered various questions about the homeless population, but not all of them.

“How do I fix homelessness? That’s a big question,” Ketterling said.

Ketterling said that Police have a hard time addressing the bigger socio-economic problem of homelessness, but that does not affect how they could be charged with crime. It does however impact the types of services they may try to put these people in contact with. Ketterling had specific answers for questions about specific individuals, often having first-hand experience in dealing with individuals who may be constantly trespassing. Service providers like MyHouse and Alaska Family Services are often who Ketterling puts in contact with homeless residents. Ketterling said that individuals camping on property can be told to leave and trespassed by the person who owns or leases the property, and that if they return they can be arrested for criminal trespassing.

“The police are the public and the public are the police,” Ketterling said, quoting Robert Peel, who he credited with many of the methods of modern policing.

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH

Ketterling stressed that neighborhood watches are encouraged to be vigilant but not vigilantes. It is the authority of the Police to intervene and stop a crime in progress, or to be able to prove probable cause after the fact to get an arrest warrant. Ketterling warned that information shared on social media is subject to anonymity, and police need accurate information and probable cause to investigate. Ketterling encouraged the face-to-face contact of neighborhood watches over the relative anonymity of social media.

“Things are changing and that’s obvious. Everybody in Palmer knows that. Our police department does a wonderful job,” Dusty Silva said. “People need to be comfortable to call the police.”

Ketterling noted that even though there have been positive outcomes from neighborhood watches in the Valley, only two or three have been active in Palmer in the last five years. He said that often times the active members move, or the problem goes away and there is little effort to maintain vigilant observation of suspicious activity. Palmer City Manager Nathan Wallace noted that the Palmer City Council has money set aside for aiding neighborhood watch programs, but did not receive any applications last year. City staff including Wallace and Community Development Director Brad Hanson volunteered to assist in finding meeting space for neighborhood watches that would like to form. Ketterling said that either he or Commander Dwayne Shelton would be happy to attend and offer their expertise if they are not drawn away on an urgent call. Ketterling noted that neighborhood watch meetings should occur at least quarterly, and there needs to be an element of fun so that people will continue to attend.

“If Ethel who makes the best banana pudding on the planet is bringing banana pudding to the next neighborhood watch meeting, we’re going to get a lot more people to attend,” Ketterling said.

Ketterling noted that neighborhood watches should be relatively small in area, just a few blocks in size, and make sure to report any suspicious activity they see.

“They can’t fix the problems that they don’t know about,” Kelly Turney said. “I would encourage you that if you ask yourself the question do I need to call you should probably go ahead and make that call.”

Ketterling also addressed concerns over citizens carrying weapons in public. While concealed carry is legal in Alaska, Ketterling asked to have suspicious activity reported so that police can intervene if necessary.

“In Alaska, we assume that everybody has a pocket knife,” Ketterling said. “With carrying a gun comes a lot of responsibility, a lot of responsibility.”

Contact Frontiersman reporter Tim Rockey at tim.rockey@frontiersman.com.