Page 6—SUSQUEHANNA TIMES Police Chief Bruce Kline of Mount Joy tells how citizens can help police prevent crime, apprehend criminals, retrieve stolen property Chief J. Bruce Kline of Mount Joy says that private citizens could be of great assistance to the police, if they would report to the police every time they see something, even remotely possibly criminal transpir- ing. The number to call is the County Dispatcher:653-1457. That number, says Chief Kline is good for the whole upper end of the county. **A lot of times people are hesitant to contact the police,” Chief Kline says. “They see something hap- pen—they might see some- thing in a neighbor’s house. They're afraid that they might be wrong about the identity of the person they suspect. **They don’t want to get involved. They're afraid they might be called in as a witness, and that the trial may be a long, drawn-out affair.” The fear of getting involved in a time-consum- ing trial is not as valid as it used to be, says Kline, because the courts have succeeded in shortening the time required for trials. About the reluctance of people to report possible crimes, Chief Kline says, “It's a heck of a thing.” When a crime strikes a private citizen's own home, then he knows the import- ance of having all the protection he possibly can have, including that which a neighbor can provide. The number of criminal ‘““incidents’’ is doubling every five years in Mount Joy. Although the work of ADJUSTABLE FOUR POINT CANES The four point canes offer greater stability and safety in walking when being used by the convalescent. These canes have the fetlowing features: Made of % inch high quality tubing, triple chrome plated Grey silencer for anti-rattle Both wide and narrow base adjustable in height from 30 inches to 36 inches at 1 inch increments. Both wide and narrow have cushioned black rubber tips. Both ha. pistol grip handles complete with cushioned vinyl handgrips. Wide base designed for greater stability— base 12 inches wide. Narrow base designed to accomodate a stair- case—base 8 inches wide. Phone 684-2551 or 684-2552 uli) Phatmtacy Third & Locusts Sts., Columbia the police has doubled in the last five years, the size of the police force is the same as it was then: ‘‘Five men five years ago, five men now,’’ says Kline. With the work of the policeman doubled, he needs all the help he can get from private citizens. To make matters worse, people in Mount Joy don’t know each other as well as they used to. Chief Kline looks reflect- ive. He ‘has been a policeman for many years. “The old small town community is a thing of the past. Once I knew everyone in town. Today it’s move in, move out. You don’t know half the people.” The growth of the community and the accom- panying growing imperson- ality make crime more likely. “I don’t think the ordinary citizen wants the community to grow the way it has,”’ says Kline. “The more people who move in, the more service that has to be provided. ‘‘People are more mobile today. House burglars are now visiting our area from Baltimore and Philadelphia. They're hitting the country towns now. ‘““We do a thorough check of houses when people are away. They fill out forms for us, in which they list all their valuables. “If a person is ever burglarized, it’s important for the police to have this list. Then if stolen property is found, it can be identified and returned to the owner. People should keep a hidden record of serial numbers. ‘““All bicycles should be registered with us, in case of theft. “If a person owns guns, says Chief Kline. ‘Some people don’t even report thefts when they are the victims. We find thieves with more stolen goods than . have been reported. We oh | should have a record of all Chief Bruce Kline he should have a hidden record of serial numbers, make, model, calibre, and length of barrel, in case it’s stolen.”’ The number of thefts is increasing, says Chief Kline. ‘‘Self-service stores are being taken advantage of, and they don’t even know it. It’s not like the days gone by, when you could trust everybody. Not today,” says Chief Kline. " that the thefts. Then, when we find stolen” property we know whom to return it to. ‘““The trouble with not reporting minor crimes is person who commits a minor crime may also have committed a major crime. Because a citizen thinks it too minor to report, a major criminal gets away.”’ The work of the policeman is getting harder every day. Not only are there more crimes to solve -and less cooperation by the public in helping the police, but the policeman is bogged down by paper work, reports. ‘‘A guy has to put in as much time on the typewriter as on patrol,’’ says Chief Kline. In addition the laws gov- erning arrest have become so complicated that a police- man has to make a snap decision which is, neverthe- less, based on a thorough knowledge of law;otherwise, a case may be thrown out of court. “When 1 started as a policeman 20 years, going through a stop sign without stopping was a crime. Now, in reporting a driver going through a stop sign, if I forget to state in my testimony that the stop sign violation occurred ‘in the state of Pennsylvania,’ the charge can be dismissed.”’ The job of policeman is getting more difficult every day, for a number of reasons. Any help received by policemen from other citi- zens will be much appreci- ated. Be on the lookout for con artists masquerading as PP&L employees A PP&L spokesman has warned local people to be on the lookout for phoney PP&L employees, who have been stealing people’s property. Walter G. Seifried, PP&L manager for the Columbia area, said that power company employees do not visit a customer’s home unless a request is made, or unless the customer has requested it. (They do check the wires coming into the house, and the meter, though, without forewarn- ing. PP&L people do not do any work on a house’s internal household wiring, and they never ask for immediate payment for any service. If you have any doubts about the authenticity of a person claiming to work for PP&L, ask to see his or her identification card. If still in doubt, call the PP&L office. Tennis Doubles The Mount Joy Tennis Club will sponsor men’s doubles and women’s doubles tournaments on Sept. 1, 2, and 3. Tourney in Mount Joy Entries must be in by August 29. Call June Edwards (653-1537), Bill Houseal (653-1535) or Chris Graham (653-4816). August 22, 1979 Donegal schools request CETA workers Donegal School Board has requested the following workers from CETA for the next year: 1 supervisor and 3 painters for a total of $42,864. The high school has requested 2 apprentice secretaries, 12 apprentice custodians, 3 remedial education specialists, 2 secretary associates, and 1 pantry assistant. Donegal ranks 8th in won-lost per cents The Lancaster Intell All Sports records for last year show Donegal in 8th place out of 17 area high schools, with an overall won-lost percentage of .561 (101 wins and 79 losses). Last year the percentage was .573. The football team was 11-0, wrestling 13-5, girls basket- ball 11-9-6, boys basketball 18-7, tennis 7-5, soccer 8-7, baseball 8-8, boys tennis 5-7, hockey 5-7, boys track 4-8, girls track 3-9, and rifle 0-10. T-shirts Students in Mrs. Ging- rich’s class this past year at Riverview, who did not receive their T-shirts and awards for the M.S. Reada- thon, should stop in Mrs. Boozer’s office the first week of school. The awards and T-shirts are here, and the records have been located. Due to difficulties with gas this summer and family vaca- tions the awards will not be delivered to individual student homes. Linda Boozer THE DEPE ec WASHERS ¢ DRYER Your full-line M SPANGL 40-42 West Market Stree
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