Day: November 21, 2013

Dover Police Department releases crime map to public

The Dover Police Department and BAIR Analytics Inc. recently partnered to provide a new way for the public to stay informed about crime in Dover. The Dover Police Department now has an online crime map called RAIDS Online (www.raidsonline.com) that maps and analyzes crime data, alerts Dover citizens about crimes in their area, and allows the Dover Police Department to quickly alert the public about crimes as they occur.

Dover citizens can view a map and grid with all of the crimes in their area, sign up for neighborhood watch reports that automatically email a breakdown of recent crime activity, and submit an anonymous tip about a crime directly to their law enforcement agency. RAIDS Online automatically syncs with the Dover Police Department’s records system to keep crime information updated online and in the mobile app.  RAIDS Online cleans and geocodes the crime data, then displays all of the incidents on a map, grid and analytics dashboard along with some basic information about the incidents, including the type of crime, location type, block-level address, date and time.

“The Dover Police Department’s participation in RAIDS Online highlights their commitment to proactive communication with the public they serve,” said Sean Bair, founder of BAIR Analytics, “We’re excited to partner with the Dover Police Department to provide this free service for their public.”

Typically, agencies can spend thousands of dollars annually through other crime mapping providers. BAIR Analytics offers RAIDS Online and the RAIDS Online Mobile app as a free service to any law enforcement agency that wishes to participate.  RAIDS Online is ad-free and BAIR Analytics does not sell the data to third party vendors, thus the agency remains in complete control over their data. “We wanted to do something to help law enforcement in these tough economic times. We consider this a basic service that we are more than happy to provide to the public and our law enforcement friends,” said Bair, a former police officer and analyst.

RAIDS Online Mobile

RAIDS Online Mobile empowers citizens to better understand crime trends and lower crime in their area. Recent crime incidents are displayed on a map or listed in a grid.  Users can click on an incident for more information or display a hotspot map based on the crimes that are currently in display. Users can also sign up for neighborhood watch reports that automatically email any recent crime activity on a daily, weekly or monthly schedule. The app makes all of this information accessible anywhere from a user’s mobile device. The RAIDS Online Mobile app is available for FREE on both iPhone and Android Platforms.

You can visit Dover’s crime map by clicking on the CRIME MAP tab at the top of this page.

Established in 1997, BAIR Analytics is an analytical software and services company providing innovative tools and subject-matter expertise for public safety, private security, national security and defense entities. Nearly half of the largest public-safety agencies in the United States use BAIR’s products & services to fight crime.  BAIR’s customers also include Wal-Mart, Target, ATF, and the US Department of Defense. In 2012 BAIR Analytics was honored as a top 50 Colorado company and made its debut as one of the fastest-growing private companies in America on the Inc. 500/5000 list. For more information, visit www.bairanalytics.com.

 How does it help your community?

·         Enables the public to stay informed about crime activity while they are away from their computer.

·         Citizens can see crime activity based on their current GPS location.

·         Empowers citizens to better understand crime trends and lower crime in their neighborhoods.

·         Makes it even easier to access near real-time crime information provided by your department.

If there are any questions, or you would like help in using the RAIDS Online Mapping Sytem, contact Cpl. Mark Hoffman from the Dover Police Department Public Affairs Office from 8am-4pm Monday through Friday at 302-736-7130.

Incident #: 50-13-32135     Date/Time: Wednesday, November 20, 2013, 5:36PM

Location: Boscov’s Parking Lot (1365 N. Dupont Highway-Dover Mall)

Narrative:  The Dover Police Department is investigating a late afternoon robbery that occurred in the Boscov’s Parking lot of the Dover Mall.  On Wednesday, November 20th, at 5:36PM, Dover Police responded to the robbery, where a 69 year old female victim was approached from behind by an unknown black male suspect.  The suspect forcibly grabbed her purse, knocking her to the ground.  The suspect fled the parking lot and may have entered a silver or dark gray 1991 Nissan vehicle with tinted windows and unknown Delaware registration plates.  The victim sustained minor injuries to her head, arm, and legs as a result of the incident.  Anyone with any information should contact the Dover Police Department at 302-736-7111.  You may also submit an anonymous tip with Delaware Crime Stoppers by phone at: 1-800-847-3333 or online at:  http://delaware.crimestoppersweb.com/

It was a joyous Tuesday night at the Dover Police Department as they celebrated career milestones of promoted officers and stories of bravery and heroism of others.  The night began with the department’s Honor Guard presenting the colors to the spine-tingling sounds of the Dover Police and Fire Department’s Pipes and Drums Unit.  Honorary Captain and Chaplain of the Dover Police Department opened the ceremony with his invocation, followed by words from Chief James Hosfelt and Dover Mayor Carleton Carey. 

    The first portion of the ceremony honored officers who have been promoted.  The first promotion was Lt. Marvin Mailey.  Mailey has served with the Dover Police Department for twenty years and has served in numerous capacities for the Dover Police Department during that time.  He will now hold the rank of Lieutenant and serve as the Internal Affairs officer for the department.

     Sgt. Todd Case was honored for his recent promotion to the rank of Sergeant.  Case has also served twenty years with the Dover Police Department, spending much of his time in the Criminal Investigations and Juvenile Units.  He will now serve as a Patrol Shift Supervisor for the department.

  MCpl. Jeffrey Davis was honored for his promotion to the Master Corporal rank.  Davis has served 18 years with the Dover Police Department, spending his time between the patrol unit and Community Policing Unit.  Davis will continue to serve in the Community Policing Unit, as a unit supervisor.

  Cpl. Thomas Hannon was honored for his promotion to Corporal.  Hannon has served with the department for 8 years, spending time in the Patrol, Quality of Life, and TAC units.  Cpl. Hannon will continue to serve in the TAC unit for the department.

 Cpl. Christopher Bumgarner earned the rank of Corporal as well.  Bumgarner is an 8 year veteran of the Dover Police Department, and had served with the United States Capitol Police prior to joining the Dover Police Department.  Bumgarner will continue to serve as the Gang Intelligence Officer for the department.

  Cpl. Peter Martinek was honored for his promotion to the rank of Corporal.  Martinek has also served 8 years with the Dover Police Department and is a former Officer of the Year recipient.  Martinek will continue to serve in the Quality of Life/Community Policing Unit for the department.

  Cpl. Jason Pfeiffer also earned the rank of Corporal for the Dover Police Department.  Pfeiffer is an 8 year veteran on the force and has served the last 4 years on the Special Enforcement Unit-Motorcycle Division, where he will continue to serve as a Corporal.

  Pfc. Terrence Knight earned the rank of Patrolman First Class for the Dover Police Department.  Knight is a 3 year veteran for the department, and currently serves on the Patrol Unit, where he will continue to serve at the rank of Patrolman First Class.

  The awards ceremony also honored officers for acts of heroism, bravery, and superior service to the Dover community.  Several officers from the “A” Platoon Patrol Unit received Distinguished Unit Commendations for their handling of several incidents:

On May 24, 2013 at approximately 2:30 in the morning, Officer Willson was patrolling the area of S. New St when he observed a group of 15-20 subjects loitering in front of 132 S. New St. Officers gathered to monitor the situation and observed a subject with dread locks enter a silver vehicle and place what they believed to be a handgun in his right rear pocket. They watched him hop the fence and head to toward S. Queen St. Officers then watched a second individual with dread lock go to the same vehicle a remove a long slender item from the trunk which they believed to be a shotgun or rifle. They watched him hand off this weapon to a third subject. Members of “A” Platoon, believing that a shooting was about to take place, sprang into action. Officers encountered these three suspects in the rear alley between New and Queen Streets and all three fled on foot. Two officers chased one of the suspects and after a lengthy foot pursuit apprehended the suspect who was found to be in possession of a loaded .38 caliber Taurus revolver. The suspect also had 5 additional rounds in his pocket. Three other officers chased and apprehended the second suspect who upon being contacted, threw down a pair of blue jeans which had a loaded sawed off shotgun concealed inside also with additional rounds of ammunition.

The third subject was apprehended by Officer Willson who upon a search located a pair of latex gloves in his pocket, which he had used in an effort to avoid leaving fingerprints. Further evidence that these 3 suspects were about to commit a violent crime.

  On April, 26, 2013 officers from the “A” Platoon Patrol unit were patrolling Manchester Square when they observed a car with its lights on and two subjects slumped down in the seats acting suspicious. Officers contacted them and found one to be wanted. Upon obtaining consent to search the vehicle, officers located 19 bundles consisting of 359 bags of heroin inside a purse. The recovered a total of 10.77 grams of heroin. The female whom the purse belonged to, was inside a residence and upon seeing the officers ran back inside. She was ultimately apprehended and charged for the drugs.

  On August 10, 2013 officers from A Platoon responded to Capitol Green for a report of shots fired after Dover Police Dispatchers received numerous calls of gunfire. MCpl. Sherwood was first to arrive to the area and observed a subject walking. When this subject saw the police car he immediately fled to a residence in the 500 block of River Rd. MCpl. Sherwood then observed a large amount of money lying on the porch. MCpl. Sherwood then talked his way into the residence called for other units to respond. He gained cooperation with a female resident who told him that three subjects were inside the house. Officers from A Platoon apprehended all three and also recovered two .22 caliber handguns which the suspects had hidden in the ceiling in the basement of the residence.

  The very next day, A Platoon responded to Whatcoat Apartments for a subject reporting he had a gun pointed at him. Officers made contact with one of the victims who advised that a male subject known only by the nickname “Dubb”, had pointed a gun at him after an altercation in the Hamlet parking lot. He stated the suspect chambered a round and pointed the gun at both him and his brother. Officers tracked the suspect to a residence on Heritage Dr and were able to make contact with him by phone. He surrendered to officers. Upon a search of the residence, officers located a Glock-9mm on the kitchen table.

  On August 19^th members of A Platoon would respond to Whatcoat Apartments again for a report of a man waiving a gun around. Dispatchers received this call and immediately put out the description and particulars of the location, which happened to be near a gold colored Chevy Suburban.  Officers arrived and cleared the suburban to find it unoccupied. It would have been easy for these officers to just clear and move on to the next complaint at this time. However, they decided to walk inside building 992, where they heard yelling from an upstairs apartment. The approached the commotion and an encountered a subject who upon a pat-down, officers located a 9mm handgun in his waistband. He was taken into custody and charged.

As you can see, this collective effort and teamwork demonstrated by members of A Platoon made the streets of Dover safer. For their efforts, they will receive the Distinguished Unit Commendation.

Recipients of the Distinguished Unit Commendations were:

Sgt. David Spicer (2)
MCpl. Brian Sherwood (2)
MCpl. Harvey Jaksch
Pfc. Joseph Bauer (2)
 Pfc. James Piazza
Pfc. Krista Roosa (2)
Pfc. John M. Willson (2)
Ptlm. Matthew Krogh (2)
Ptlm. Ryan Schmid (2)
Ptlm. Anthony Griffin
Ptlm. James Wood (2)
 Dispatcher Mark Hall (2)
Dispatcher Lee Jackson
Dispatcher Steven Kolodjeski

 Perhaps the highlight of the night was when the department honored three officers with the Life Saving Commendation.  Cpl. Mark Hoffman, Pfc. Terrence Knight, and Ptlm. Brian Berns were honored with the award for saving the life of Vera Paynter.  Paynter called 911 and advised she was choking and could not breathe.  Officers were dispatched to a residence in the Towne Point development. Cpl. Hoffman and the medical team began knocking and yelling into the residence they were advised the call came from.  There was no answer and Hoffman forced entry, only to find the resident to be okay.  It turned out that the dispatch center had obtained incorrect information.  The dispatchers attempted to call the number back, but there was no answer.  Officers Knight and Berns then arrived on scene and the decision was made by the three officers to check door-to-door.  A short time later, the officers were notified to check another address, just a few houses from their location.  When the officers arrived and made entry, they found Ms. Paynter on the floor and unable to breathe.  First aid was rendered and the officers were able to dislodge the object that Ms. Paynter had been choking on.  Ms. Paynter was in attendance at the ceremony and chose to speak, thanking the department and the officers who saved her life that day.  The officers were reunited with Ms. Painter at the front of the room and exchanged hugs prior to receiving their Life Saving Commendation.  There wasn’t a dry eye in the room upon hearing Ms. Paynter’s story and thanks.  It truly was a great moment to be witnessed and an excellent end to a night that celebrated Dover’s finest and their service to the community.    

Click on Images to Enlarge

The Dover Police Department is seeking the public’s help in locating a high risk sex offender from the state of Wisconsin.  Joel R. Lowery (pictured below), on parole in Wisconsin, cut off his ankle monitoring bracelet, and stole a sky blue P.T. Cruiser  and fled the state.  The vehicle was located in the parking lot of A.C. Moore yesterday (11-20-2013) at approximately 4PM.   Lowery is on parole in Wisconsin for numerous sex crimes, including several against minors.  His reasons for being in the Dover area are unknown at this time.  Police believe he is likely traveling by foot and possibly public transportation.      Lowery is considered to be dangerous, and should not be contacted if seen.  Call 9-1-1 immediately if you have seen Lowery.  

The Dover Police Department will be increasing patrols targeting Driving Under the Influence Violations throughout the Holiday season.  During the holiday season (Thanksgiving Eve through New Year’s Day), 2-3 time more people die in alcohol related crashes than any other time of the year.  40% of traffic fatalities during the holiday season involve a driver who is impaired by alcohol.  Drunk driving crashes are most prevalent during the holidays, as more people are on the road after having attended a friend’s or an office party where liquor is served.  As a result of a partnership with the Department of Highway Safety, the Dover Police Department will have an additional 33 officers working throughout the holiday season, directly targeting drivers that are under the influence.  We recommend the following tips to ensure your holiday season and events keep everyone safe.

Be Responsible

Basically this boils down to everything from planning the party menu to assessing how guests will get home safely once the party is over.

What Every Host Needs to Know
• Don’t rely on coffee to sober up your guests. Only time can make someone sober.
• Beer and wine are just as intoxicating as hard liquor. A 12-ounce can of beer, a five-ounce glass of wine, a 12-ounce wine cooler and an ounce and a half of liquor contain the same amount of alcohol.
• Don’t rely on someone’s physical appearance to determine if they’ve had too much to drink.
• Mixers won’t help dilute alcohol. Carbonated mixers like club soda or tonic water cause alcohol to be absorbed into a person’s system more quickly. Fruit juice and other sweet mixers mask the taste of alcohol and may cause people to drink more.

Planning Your Party

• As guests RSVP, confirm that at least one person in each group is prepared to be the non-drinking designated driver.
• Provide plenty of food to keep your guests from drinking on an empty stomach.
• Avoid too many salty snacks, which tend to make people thirsty and drink more.
• Offer non-alcoholic beverages or mock-tails for designated drivers and others who prefer not to drink alcohol. And as the evening progresses, decrease the amount of alcohol poured in drinks and replace with mixers.
• If preparing an alcoholic punch, use a non-carbonated base, like fruit juice. Alcohol is absorbed into the blood stream faster with a carbonated base.
• Be prepared by having the number of a taxi service on hand for those who need a ride. Also, be ready with some clean linens so you can turn your sofa into a hotel for guests who need to sleep it off.

During Your Party

• Never serve alcohol to someone under the legal drinking age, and never ask children to serve alcohol at parties.
• Don’t let guests mix their own drinks. Choosing a reliable “bartender” will help you keep track of the size and number of drinks that guests consume.
• If a guest appears to be drinking a bit much, offer to freshen his or her drink with a virgin version.
• Do not push drinks! Drinking at a party is not mandatory for having a good time.
• Have fun – but not too much fun. To be a good host, you should stay within your limits in order to make sure your guests stay within theirs.
• Close the bar 90 minutes before the party ends.  Remember, only time sobers someone who has been drinking.
• If, despite your efforts, some of your guests have had too much to drink, drive them home, arrange for a ride with another guest who is sober, call a taxi, get a hotel, or invite them to stay over.