Snyder Mayor Tony Wofford said he believes that when it comes to crime prevention, the community needs to get more involved with helping law enforcement, as well as one another.
Law enforcement is still investigating the alleged armed robbery that occurred in the 1600 block of Voss Lane on Oct. 8, and Wofford said such crimes have made residents uneasy.
“I had a citizen call me about three weeks ago and he was concerned about some of the notable unsolved cases we’ve had in this area over the past few years,” Wofford said. “I know our police are doing all they can do, but I think if we as a community can do our part and make it as tough as possible to do some of these bad things, maybe it would help deter crime.”
Wofford admitted he believes the city has “somewhat of a drug problem,” though he said he believes the May 28 drug bust, in which 12 suspects were arrested, helped quell the issue temporarily.
Snyder Chief of Police Terry Luecke said he does not believe there has been a significant spike in the crime rate in recent months, due in large part to efforts like the one in May.
“If you look at it, it’s kind of levels off,” Luecke said. “You have a small percentage of the population committing a majority of the crime in this city.”
Scurry County Sheriff Trey Wilson said he believes the robbery at Voss Lane, in which two men allegedly entered a residence, beat up a male subject and took money and phone before leaving the premises, was not a random act.
“This was not a person who just said, ‘I’m going to go find a random house and rob them,’” Wilson said. “We do have crime here (in Scurry County), but I don’t think it’s any different than we’ve had in the past. I don’t feel like the public is in danger. I know the public is concerned, and we just ask them to stay alert and aware.”
Wilson said solving crimes takes time and that investigations often take more time and effort than the public realizes. The May 28 drug bust, in which 12 felony drug warrants were executed, was the culmination of a nearly one-year investigation.
“We’re doing everything in our power to clean these cases up,” Wilson said.
In an effort to help law enforcement in their crime prevention efforts, Wofford said he is willing to try and get the citizens more involved.
“I talked to a mayor of another town who said they started a crime line,” Wofford said. “If a person witnesses a crime happening, and calls that number and law enforcement ends up solving the case, the citizen would receive a small cash reward. He said he noticed a drop in their crime rate. Would something like that work in Snyder? I don’t know, but I would be willing to try it. This is about people getting involved and not being afraid to call authorities when they see a crime being committed.”