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Rotarians receive update from sheriff’s office

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Polk County Sheriff Byron Lyons and others from his department presented a program to the Rotary Club of Livingston Thursday. (l-r) Rotarian Trina Fowlkes, Special Victims Liaison Christie Allen, Lyons, Rotary President Andrew Boyce, Cptn. Dave Sottosanti and Lt. Glenn Edwards.  Photo by Emily Banks WootenPolk County Sheriff Byron Lyons and others from his department presented a program to the Rotary Club of Livingston Thursday. (l-r) Rotarian Trina Fowlkes, Special Victims Liaison Christie Allen, Lyons, Rotary President Andrew Boyce, Cptn. Dave Sottosanti and Lt. Glenn Edwards. Photo by Emily Banks WootenBy Emily Banks Wooten
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Sheriff Byron Lyons and several others from his department, Capt. Dave Sottosanti, Lt. Glenn Edwards and Christie Allen recently presented a program for the Rotary Club of Livingston.

“We’re much better now than we were the last time we were here. Judge Murphy and the commissioners court got us where we need to be,” Lyons said.

Sottosanti reported the department has 22 deputies on the street for about 1,100 square miles, with four or five for the day shift and four or five for the night shift. He said every Monday morning the sheriff’s office updates its Facebook page with its weekly blotter.

“We usually run 1,100-1,300 calls for service per week, that’s a lot, roughly 171 calls a day. And we had about 2,185 extra patrols for the month of January and 215 calls for service on Tuesday,” Sottosanti said.

“The sheriff came on in 2020 and since he’s been in office our crime rates have gone down significantly,” Sottosanti said. He said the total number of sex offenses is down 8%, assaults are down 10%, burglaries are down 28%, larceny and theft are down 16%, fraud is down 17.9%, destruction of property and vandalism is down 41% and drugs and narcotics are down 74%.

“You have to remember these numbers are per capita,” Lyons said. “The numbers east of town and south of town are staying about the same. I don’t want anybody to have the illusion that the threat element is gone because it’s not,” Lyons said. “We need to give the whole total picture. There are things you have to take into consideration.”

Lyons said most of the burglaries are driven by drug use. “Fentanyl, by the grace of God, is not as bad in Polk County as it is in neighboring areas, but it’s here. They’re coming after our children. They’re designing it to look like Skittles or Pop Rocks, types of candy.

“Byron Lyons can’t fix this by himself. My department can’t solve crime alone. We have to form partnerships with the community. One of the things the judge’s office has encouraged us to do is become more transparent. We’re getting ready to do a new web page. There will be interactive maps, show who has warrants. We think being able to put these numbers out there will be more transparent,” Lyons said.

“Houston is getting closer to us. Every person moving into Polk County doesn’t have the Polk County standard that we have, the morale, the morals. We’re trying to use more technology to assist us,” Lyons said, adding that the department is looking at going to the Flock System, a camera system that reads license plates.

“Some of the POAs have said they’re going to purchase them for their subdivisions. We can be partners with them. They cost about $2,500-$3,000 a year. We have to deploy every means of technology we can. The Flock System will give us a window and a name of a registered owner. It’s a very nice tool to help us in our efforts to fight crime,” Lyons said.

Allen said she was with the sheriff’s office for 30 years, retired in 2019 as a detective and then came back as special victims liaison, working with children of abuse.

“I go to all the forensic interviews, SANE exams, so the guys can stay on the streets. I’m also getting into the schools, teaching the young kids that police officers are our friends. We teach them about calling 911 for an emergency,” she said, stressing how important it is for children to know their address and telephone number.

“Last month I had 20 forensic interviews in a month. On April 12 I’m doing a program in the Corrigan school on teen dating, violence, sexting, bullying. I’m trying to get into all the schools,” Allen said.

Goodrich ISD Superintendent Dr. Daniel Barton expressed his appreciation to Lyons and the sheriff’s office. “Right after Uvalde, school safety was on everyone’s minds. They came in and did training for us free of charge. On behalf of Goodrich ISD, I want to thank Sheriff Byron Lyons and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office,” Barton said.

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