Major J.D. Winkler said Tuesday there will be increased visibility by the Owensboro Police Department in one area on the east side of town and one area on the west.
Speaking at the Northwest Neighborhood Alliance’s virtual meeting, Winkler said OPD is stretching its presence to help ensure safety across the city.
“If we have officers present, or the youth see them, it deters any crime,” Winkler said.
Winkler said after OPD increased their watch on the west side, they started seeing spikes on the east end. He said officers are encouraged to detour through known locations while heading to lunch, as well as at the start and end of a shift.
With limited staff, Winkler said that stretching the officers has resulted in some higher pay for overtime work. According to Winkler, OPD is down 24 officers on the street and is suffering from 11 vacancies.
Winkler said OPD is expected to do more traffic stops as well for common things such as rolling stops, a missing headlight, etc.
Winkler also discussed how juveniles have been involved with some of the recent crime, and that some of them have been charged.
After a community member said that they heard a juvenile involved with a crime had been displaced to a temporary living area and was not receiving an education, Winkler noted that there is a range of places where juveniles could go. That includes places such as the Warren Regional Juvenile Detention Center, the Mary Kendall home, and St. Joseph’s Peace Mission, or even potentially back home with an ankle monitor.
Winkler said that while he doesn’t know about how the facility in Warren County handles their system, he said that he would check to be sure because he feels education is an important opportunity for them.
“Taking away education is taking away every opportunity to get them a good mentor, a teacher, coach,” he said. “These kids should be getting an education.”
In other business during the Alliance meeting, Chairperson Rafe Buckner said that he was able to meet with the grandson of Max Rhoads to discuss the potential name change of the park to Moneta Sleet Jr. Park. Buckner said the family is receptive to the idea of the name change, as Rhoads has a building located in the city with his name already.
Additionally, the Easter Extravaganza is currently planned for April 16 from 1-5 p.m. at Kendall-Perkins Park. They plan to have a bike giveaway, live music and the staple Easter egg hunt.
