Police Chief Andre Lloyd said several arrests have been made in connection with recent burglaries.
And he anticipates more.
“When we get close to the holiday season, crime always picks up,” Lloyd said. “It is that time of the year again.”
Lloyd said the police department has received more reports of home, business and vehicle burglaries over the past few months. He said he has noticed most of the crimes are occurring in central Yazoo City, particularly the Lamar and North Street area.
There have also been reports of both homes and vehicles being burglarized in the Wildwood Terrace area.
“We have increased our patrol units at night,” he said. “I will be out looking myself for anything unusual, trying to catch these perpetrators. It is going to take everyone working together to make this happen.”
Lloyd said five burglary arrests have been made by his officers in connection with the recent rash of crimes.
Those arrests include:
• Ralpheal Simmons, burglary of a residence
• Reginald Luckett, burglary of a commercial business
• Maurice Jones, breaking and entering of a dwelling house
• Terry Palmer, breaking and entering of a commercial business
• Kenneth Mayberry, automobile burglary
Lloyd said observant neighbors, fingerprints and video surveillance are what is leading to many of these arrests. But he admits it can sometimes be a slow process.
“A lot of times, we rely on fingerprints lifted at the scene,” Lloyd said. “As soon as we get our reports back from the crime lab, we can go get the suspects. It is a slow process, but it is what we have to go by to keep the suspects in our custody.”
Lloyd said the majority of the time, his officers know the suspects.
“We just have to wait on the paperwork and other reports from the lab to keep our department in line,” he said. “We can’t just pick them up without that information on file.”
Lloyd said video surveillance from both home and business security systems have proven to be very instrumental in making arrests.
“And neighborhood watches,” he added. “Watch out for each other. I would like for everybody in the city to do that in their areas. Look out fo each other’s houses, and call us if you see anything. It’s all about neighbors helping neighbors.”
The police department can be reached at 746-1131. For emergencies, dial 911.
