Increases in car thefts, drug overdoses affecting Lexington

Property thefts, especially those involving vehicles, are among the most frequently committed crimes in Lexington with more than 260 vehicles being stolen and nearly 800 vehicle break-ins from July to September.

Lexington’s public safety leaders gathered Friday morning to discuss the increase in thefts as well as other challenges facing the city and the steps being taken deal with them. The Commerce Lexington Inc. event, part of the Good Morning Bluegrass series, brought Lexington Police Chief Mark Barnard, Fire Chief Kristin Chilton and Fayette County Sheriff Kathy Witt together to answer questions about heroin overdoses, car break-ins and other problems.

All three said their agencies have seen the effects of increases in criminal activity as Lexington grows. The thefts of cars and from cars are a part of that increase and are currently the number one crime affecting Lexington, Barnard said.

The rise in such property crimes is partially attributed to limitations on punishment. Under state law, some types of property theft result in citations rather than arrests, Barnard said.

“If you get pulled over, you get a speeding ticket and you go on your way,” Barnard said. “If you get caught in a neighborhood that night stealing out of our cars, you get a ticket and you go home, you don’t go to jail.”

For car-related thefts to go down, members of the community will have to use caution, Barnard said. Of the cars stolen in Lexington in recent months, 42 percent had the keys left inside.

Police aren’t the only public safety officials feeling the strain of the growing population in Lexington. Last year, the Lexington Fire Department’s ambulances had about 50,000 runs, Chilton said. So far this year that number is up 9 percent.

Every month, about 150 of those ambulance calls have resulted in the administration of opioid overdose reversal drug Narcan, Chilton said. That’s up from a monthly average of 100 last year.

As drugs like carfentanil and fentanyl have been increasingly used alongside heroin and other drugs, officials have struggled to deal with added dangers, Barnard said. The slightest physical contact with carfentanil can cause an officer to overdose.

“Now we’re having to carry Narcan for the officers themselves, not just for the public, and our K-9 dogs,” Barnard said. The dogs that are trained to sniff out narcotics may need to be revived after overdosing on carfentanil or fentanyl.

“We’re not really not prepared for that as a country,” Barnard said.

Police have adapted how they deal with drug-related crime, Barnard said. Officers have been trained to work compassionately with families affected by addiction while focusing on holding drug dealers and suppliers responsible.

When asked about the relationships between law enforcement and the community, Barnard said training and preparedness have helped Lexington stay above many of the policing problems that have been seen around the country.

“Law enforcement officers with higher education use less force, they are better critical thinkers and problem solvers,” Barnard said.

For that reason, Lexington officers have to go through one of the longest — 32 to 33 weeks — training academies in the country before working on the streets, Barnard said. Additionally, the department pays for its officers to get bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

Lexington police officers also prepare for dangerous situations by going through de-escalation and crisis-intervention training, Barnard said.

This story was originally published October 28, 2016 at 2:14 PM with the headline "Increases in car thefts, drug overdoses affecting Lexington."