NC Wanted Says Goodbye to Our Law Enforcement Expert

It’s the end of an era at NC Wanted. Our longtime law enforcement expert, Melanie Thomas, has moved on to bigger and brighter things. We will miss her, and we wish her well.

She completed an illustrious career in law enforcement. Her tenure with the SBI gave her unparalleled credibility with the law enforcement agencies we deal with on a daily basis. She provided the technical expertise that shaped our NC Wanted features, and helped us navigate the complicated line between media and law enforcement. It’s a delicate relationship that she helped create.

Melanie helped us see these unsolved cases from an investigator’s perspective, and guided us on how to translate that to television. She will be gone from NC Wanted, but the good work she did for us will remain. Thanks Mel.
 

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Fatal Car Accidents Demonstrate Importance of Safe Driving

It’s been a difficult week in the news business. We seemed to have more than our fair share of tragic deaths involving motor vehicles. Both involving doctors accused of being at fault. In one case, a 28-year-old groom was killed on his wedding day. He was on the way to have breakfast with his groomsmen when he was hit by a doctor who ran a red light.

In the other case, an aspiring ballerina, just 20 years old, was killed by a plastic surgeon. Police say that doctor was drunk and speeding when he hit her car. She died at the scene.

Two families had their lives turned upside down because of someone else’s negligence. Two innocent people are no longer with us, through no fault of their own. It should make you angry. It should make you think BEFORE you have that “one for the road.”

While the system deals with the two at fault, and the families bury the two victims, think long and hard about YOUR driving habits, and what the consequences

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N.C. Victims Assistance Network Takes Budget Hit

What’s $37,000 in a $19 billion budget? It’s everything to a small, statewide non-profit that works on behalf of crime victims.

NC VAN, or North Carolina Victim Assistance Network, receives about $150,000 of its $350,000 annual budget from the state government. The organization learned recently that their annual appropriation would be cut by 25 percent in this budget, or $37,500. That’s more than ten percent of their total operating budget for the year.

The organization argues a cut of that magnitude will severely hamper what they do for crime victims, while another state appropriation, the Indigent Defense Fund, could sustain that hit, and still operate. What does the Indigent Defense Fund do? It provides legal services to people accused of committing violent crimes.

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Teamwork is Key to Solving Crimes

There is a certainty that law enforcement acknowledges. Criminals do not recognize city limits, county or state lines, or law enforcement jurisdictions.

The greatest success stories, when it comes to solving crime and protecting the community, occur when information is shared and resources are combined. Turf and control issues are set aside to reach a common goal.

Whether it is an extended investigation and major operation to arrest alleged terrorist suspects, or combining efforts to catch a possible serial killer, teamwork among local, state and federal law enforcement is the key.

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WCSO Corvette Critics Missing Some Facts

A story that aired on WRAL recently is generating a lot of interest from viewers. The Wake County Sheriff’s Office recently seized a 2007 Corvette Z06 from a convicted drug dealer. The car is now being used in the drug interdiction program and for catching speeders. It’s a high performance vehicle (505 HP; zero to 60 in 3.7 seconds) that the county didn’t have to buy.

Most comments are positive. People are glad that law enforcement took the vehicle from someone who got it with money gained illegally, and are now using it to help keep drugs off the streets. Others don’t see the need for a car like this in a law enforcement capacity. There are also a large number of people who still think the county spent $70-80,000 on this car, which, if it were true, would be an incredible waste of taxpayer money. They obviously didn’t read or listen to the story carefully.

Public comment is good for stories like this.

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