GREENVILLE - Greenville Police Chief Daniel Busken has received the 2012 Innovation Award from the Texas Police Chief’s Association.
The award was presented at the Texas Police Chiefs annual conference on April 5. Chief Busken was nominated for the award due to successful innovative efforts demonstrated by the Greenville Police Department in dealing with a rise in the number of thefts from automobiles.
Vehicle burglary is a difficult crime to solve. These offenses are usually spread throughout a community, and those committing these crimes usually smash a window, or enter an unlocked vehicle, leaving little or no evidence behind.
The Greenville Texas Police Department used an inter-organizational vehicle burglary task force to dramatically decrease vehicle burglaries. Additionally, the Hunt County District Attorney’s office devised an innovative approach to prosecution, ensuring several repeat offenders received adequate punishment for their crimes.
The Task Force was formed following a 31% increase in thefts from vehicles. During the first week of December 2010, a special “Task Force” dedicated to the investigation of motor vehicle burglaries began work. This innovative task force investigation was organized by Busken due to the high number of vehicle burglaries that had occurred in the previous months.
Thefts related to this investigation were first reported in September 2009. In April 2011, the police department was still receiving affidavits from crime victims pertaining to this investigation. Many of those facing criminal charges appeared in court during the latter part of 2011, while some of those facing charges still have criminal trials pending.