Carson City District Attorney Garrit Pruyt talks about the steps in prosecution should a victim choose to press charges after theft, battery or other crime.
Photo by Jessica Garcia.
The Carson City Sheriff’s Office Community Business Crime Prevention Coalition gathered for its first meeting Nov. 18 to learn about crime trends and safety tips ahead of the holiday season.
Sgt. Brett Bindley, CCSO criminal investigations bureau supervisor, gave business owners and employees practical tips to protect their staff or properties against break-ins, theft or other suspicious behavior. Carson City District Attorney Garrit Pruyt discussed what his office does in the event a case is prosecuted.
“Employee education training for the people that work in our businesses — they are the most important assets that we have,” Bindley said. “Training them is important.”
Bindley said vigilance, down to completing paperwork, can help law enforcement better identify suspects.
Keeping cameras secure, operational and clear helps with facial recognition and evidence during break-ins. Collecting information on stolen property and making video, dates and times, lists of potential suspects and witnesses and other documentation for deputies’ arrival is helpful, Bindley said.
Determining alternative delivery locations to avoid package or cargo theft prevents boxes or items from becoming open targets of opportunity.
Bindley also discussed simple prevention methods. Access control to a property’s ingress or egress such as locking mechanisms or key controls can be creative without being expensive, Bindley said.
Should a crime occur, Pruyt stressed not all cases are charged nor do some business owners want to bring cases forward for prosecution, although it is up to the DA’s office to determine what crimes are charged. Often, the perpetrator might have been down on their luck, returned what they took and went on their way, and the victim chose not to press charges, he said.
“Our goal is to make the victim whole wherever possible, that’s a first goal, and obviously to dissuade the conduct,” he said.
Katherine Shimaji, assistant manager with the Jacksons Food Store in Carson City, said she found information about using camera systems, particularly a Flock license plate reader that shares information with law enforcement, valuable.
“It really has to do with response time, solving a crime and being able to catch the perpetrator and bringing him to trial,” Shimaji said, sharing she observes theft of alcohol at her location. “I’m definitely going to be contacting corporate about more security because we have limited cameras,” she said.
But she praised the CCSO and the program.
“The officers here are wonderful; I mean, they show up, they respond very, very quickly,” she said.
The CCSO and the Carson City Chamber of Commerce partnered in January this year on the coalition as a proactive approach to training and prevention. Bindley said he has not yet decided whether meetings would be semiannual or quarterly.