Day: November 14, 2014

It didn’t take long at all for the new Dover Police Street Crimes Unit to make an impact when they hit the streets of Dover today.  The day began with a 7:30AM briefing to review the goals and objectives of the unit as well as the areas to cover, followed by a ten-minute photo session with the Delaware News Journal at 9:00AM.  By 9:45AM, the unit arrested Ezekiel Benson (24) of Dover.  The Street Crimes Unit observed Benson inside of the Dover Public Library and learned that he had an active capias from Superior Court for his arrest.  When officers contacted Benson, he began yelling and screaming at the officers and pulled away from officers as they attempted to take Benson into custody.  Once Benson was arrested, the officers discovered 5.1 grams of crack cocaine on his person.  Benson was brought back to the Dover Police Department where he was charged with Possession with Intent to Deliver Controlled Substance (Crack Cocaine), Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Disorderly Conduct, Resisting Arrest, and the Local Fugitive Charge for his active capias.  Officers also seized $110.00 in suspected drug profits from Benson.  Bond information for Benson was not available at the time of this release.

By 2:30PM, the unit took enforcement action for public urination in an alley and an illegal dice game.  Details of those arrests/citations were not available at the time of release.
The Dover Police Department Street Crimes Unit was formed shortly after a series of shootings in Dover, sparking the need to increase proactive enforcement by the department.  The unit is temporary and will stay together for the remainder of 2014 and be further evaluated at that time.  Chief Bernat, of the Dover Police Department, would like to see the department continue it’s proactive enforcement but stated that the department simply needs more police officers in order to make that happen.

Information Released By: Cpl. Mark Hoffman, Public Information Officer

The Northwestern University Center for Public Safety issued a press release this week, announcing the graduation of Major Marvin Mailey from the School of Police Staff and Command at the Northwestern University Center for Public Safety.  Mailey was a member of the 364th Class which accommodated a total of 45 students for a 10-week period from July 21st-September 26th of 2014.

The 10 -week program, located in Nashville, Tennessee, provides upper-level college instruction in a total of twenty-seven core blocks of instruction and additional optional blocks during each session.  The major topics of study include: Leadership, Human Resources, Employee Relations, Organizational Behavior, Applied Statistics, Planning and Police Development, Budgeting and Resource Allocation.

Each student is academically challenged through written examinations, projects, presentations and quizzes in addition to a staff study paper that are all required parts of the curriculum.  Upon successful completion, students may be awarded a total of 6 units of undergraduate credit from the Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

The Center for public Safety was established at Northwestern University in 1936 with the specific goal of expanding university-based education and training for the Law Enforcement Community.  Since its inception, the Center has broadened its original objective and now provides a variety of courses and programs in the area of Police Training, Management Training,                                                  and Executive Development.

The Dover Police Department anticipates a variety of benefits from Major Marvin Mailey’s attendance at this program and are extremely proud of his accomplishments.  “We are excited to have Major Mailey back at the department after being gone for the 10-week period, and look forward to his leadership and fresh ideas obtained from his educational experience” said Chief Paul Bernat.

Summary:
The Dover Police Department responded to 16 shoplifting calls between Noon on November 6th and Noon on November 13th.  Of those 16 shoplifting complaints, prosecution was declined by two merchants, two were unfounded, seven are still under investigation, and arrests were made in 5 cases. A total of 4 adults and one juvenile were arrested.