Says office generally very reactive; stresses need to report crimes immediately

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(March 22, 2018) Although residents at the last two Snow Hill Town Council meetings complained about communication issues with local police, Snow Hill Police Chief Tom Davis said his office is generally very reactive, with an average response time of about two minutes.

“Occasionally there’s going to be an issue,” he said. “We had one recently with the weather where our roof was frozen, which caused a leak, which got into the phone lines in my office,” Davis said during an interview on Monday. “There was some damage done and those kinds of things are going to happen, and they can to happen anywhere. All in all, unless it’s something unusual, we’re very timely.”

To reach an officer, Davis said it is important to know which phone number is appropriate for which circumstance.

In case of an emergency, the number is always the same, 911.

“For any emergency or crime in progress, such as a motor vehicle crash, burglaries or robberies, call 911,” Davis said. “For any crimes to report after the fact or any other incidents that occur after the fact, they would call the nonemergency number, 410-632-2444. That goes to our dispatch center, who will dispatch a Snow Hill officer. Or, if they simply need to talk to the on-duty Snow Hill officer, they will patch through to his cellphone.”

The officer number for administrative purposes is 410-632-2447.

Davis also stressed the importance of reporting any crime, regardless of how large or small, as soon as possible.

“We had several instances over the last couple of years since I arrived here where people will wait a day or more – sometimes up to a couple of weeks – after they realize they have been the victim of a crime, such as a malicious destruction of property or theft from a vehicle,” Davis said. “They’re just not reporting it in a timely manner. We’d prefer that they would call right away and let us know, and that way we can respond and take a report.

“There may be other instances where the same things happen in a different area, so we would like to know about it as soon as possible. That gives us a better chance to solve it,” he added.

Davis did not have exact statistics of how the crime rate in Snow Hill measures against state averages, but said crime is relatively low in the town.

The Snow Hill department has six full-time officers and one part-time administrative assistant.

Davis said his office hopes to hire one more full-time officer and one part-time officer. To inquire, call the administrative line, 410-632-2447.