Submitted by The City of Olympia
Local Criminal Justice leaders met yesterday at Olympia City Hall in the first of regular monthly meetings aimed at addressing crime throughout Thurston County. Chief Ronnie Roberts of Olympia hosted the session in response to crime concerns that impact citizens county-wide. Representatives included Chief Dusty Pierpoint of Lacey, Chief John Hutching of Tenino, Chief John Stines of Tumwater, Chief Todd Stancil of Yelm, Thurston County Sheriff John Snaza, Chief Ed Sorger of The Evergreen State College, and Thurston County Prosecutor John Tunheim. Senior managers and supervisors of the respective agencies were also in attendance, as well as Captain Dave Johnson from the Thurston County Narcotic Task Force and members of the Department of Corrections.
The goal of this first meeting was to develop a unified approach to addressing property and violent crime which has been impacting all the local jurisdictions. Law enforcement leaders believe that by combining resources they can have an even greater effect on crime. Chief Roberts stated, “It is important to understand that crime issues are not contained by borders and offenders often cross jurisdictional boundaries. By identifying crime patterns and offenders we can reduce crime across the county and also have an impact on crime in Olympia. This meeting was the first of a series of meetings that are problem-focused and action-oriented.” During the meetings, extensive data analysis will be used to establish priorities for focused law enforcement strategies. These strategies will be implemented in each jurisdiction to combat crime in the community.
