“The Sheriff’s View” (#30)
For centuries, those studying crime trends have deduced many theories, from full-moon studies to how climate, global positioning and even one’s diet can affect behavior. Personally, I am a believer of numerous of these causations but since it is now summer time, maybe we can throw the heat factor in here somewhere. Law enforcement authorities always prepare for a higher call volume with warm weather, but right now in Pulaski County we are trying to figure out the cause of so many odd and bizarre events that have been occurring. As some of you possibly read last week, we have recently seen a decrease in many of our crime categories in rural Pulaski County; however, the odd and complex scenarios seem to be increasing.
Regarding the above, we can conclude many theories for bizarre behavior but it seems like the catalyst for most of our strange occurrences stem around illegal drugs, namely the abuse of bath-salts and synthetic drugs. When under the influence of these substances, we are seeing individuals doing horrendous things to both themselves and others. Legislators are trying to combat this problem at State and Federal levels but right now I would like to put the burden on our businesses who know some of their products are being sold for illegitimate purposes. Despite knowing and reading about the deaths and harm these products are doing to our community and nation, they continue to sell them for financial gain.
I promise those who sell any illegal substances are being included in our overt and undercover drug operations, just as we are currently targeting our methamphetamine and heroin distributors. We are passionate about working illegal drugs and protecting our citizens, as you have and will continue to see.
Last week, most Missouri Sheriffs and I attended a four day conference in Springfield to discuss many issues concerning our citizens. One of the main headliners was the new procedures regarding our Carrying a Concealed Weapon (CCW) law. When the new Missouri CCW legislation was passed, it left a four month void in “how or if” CCW licenses were going to be issued for the remainder of this year. The new legislation have the Sheriffs taking over the issuance of the CCW licenses on January 01, 2014, but beginning the last week of August the Missouri Department of Revenue will be completely out of the process, so we immediately had a problem.
The Missouri Sheriff’s Association aggressively began working with State officials on this and developed a fix. As of the end of August, my office will handle 100% of the CCW process. For the recipients, the only change will be for the last four months of this year. Your actual license will be composed of paper, similar to that of a Missouri Hunting and Fishing license. Beginning January 01, 2014, the CCW license will actually be plastic, such as an ID or driver’s license. For those who are issued a paper license this year, you are more than welcome to return after January 01, 2014 for a plastic one at no additional cost. The new legislation regarding the CCW licenses also makes it a crime for any Sheriff’s office to disseminate your personal information to a vendor or non-law enforcement entity. Simply put, the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department will completely handle and maintain your CCW records.
We are also in the process of implementing a Chaplin’s Office at the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department, which is a common element of most law enforcement agencies nationwide. We have two individuals that will develop this unit; one is a deputy and the other is a minister/counselor. Once operational, this unit will be available to assist your deputies and community with situations involving major incidents and deaths. I will let you know once our new Chaplin’s Office is fully functional.
Also, the driveway paving scammers are hard at it, again. Be aware of businesses from other cities/states that are not members of the Better Business Bureau. Last week we had two victims of this scam in Pulaski County, where individuals paid for driveway repairs that were done with substandard materials, or not completed. Once theses scam artists have your money, they are off to new locations, never to be found again. Before hiring anyone for driveway or roof repairs do your background checks, and don’t ever pay the complete bill before the job is completed to your satisfaction.
This concludes another week’s summary as your Pulaski County sheriff, and I hope to see you here again next week. For more information about the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department and other related items of interest, please visit our Web-site at (
www.pcsheriff2.com), or on Facebook.
As always, stay safe and do something positive for your community.
Sheriff Ronald Long
