Former board member and mayor of Edwardsville Hal Patton raised concerns with the Madison County Judiciary Committee after it took deputies approximately two hours to respond to vehicle burglaries last month at an Edwardsville property.
Major Jeff Connor, who serves as the Madison County Sheriff Chief Deputy and liaison to county government, told Judiciary members that several emergency calls came in at the same time, creating a delay for the non-emergency call.
Connor said the situation was one “where the stars aligned,” and the response time to the smash-and-grab burglaries took more time than normal due to the circumstances.
During the public comment portion of the Judiciary meeting on Jan. 7, Patton said that he owns an Edwardsville building that currently houses a hot yoga studio run by one of his tenants. The building is in a “donut” section of Edwardsville that is in the Madison County Sheriff Department’s jurisdiction.
He said that in late November, he had a discussion with the tenants in the buildings he owns and reminded them to lock up the buildings, set alarms and take extra precautions as the Christmas season is when communities see an increase in petty theft and break-ins.
Then on Dec. 6, the hot yoga studio had approximately 25 clients present when cameras captured a white vehicle approaching the building at approximately 5:37 p.m. The suspects checked each vehicle in the parking lot for unlocked doors or visible belongings left in the cars. In about 14 minutes, the suspects broke four windows and robbed five or six individuals.
Patton said the young women who were robbed called 911. He said the Edwardsville Police Department first fielded the call. Because the suspects had already left and there was no immediate threat, the call was transferred to the Sheriff’s Department as it was in the county’s jurisdiction.
Patton said that when deputies arrived two hours later, they were “very nice” and “extremely professional.” The deputies explained that there was an emergency in Hamel and another call in Highland with only two deputies covering that region of the county. Because the call at the hot yoga studio was not an emergency, the other calls took priority.
Patton said the victims reported that their Visa cards were being used at the Walgreens in Edwardsville and Maryville shortly after the burglaries, getting away with thousands of dollars worth of merchandise.
“So the crime that took place on my property, because of the delayed response, is now allowing crimes to occur at other parts of the county,” he said.
He applauded the Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office and stressed his support for law enforcement, but acknowledged that when he was on the county board he never thought to question how many deputies were on duty, what response times looked like and how different law enforcement agencies coordinate in certain situations.
He commended the county board for making efforts to lower taxes, but said he would rather forgo some tax decreases in exchange for more deputies.
Connor said he talked with Patton following the incident and apologized for the response time, but said some in-progress crimes were also going on at the same time and caused the delay.
He said there are at least six deputies on duty at any given time, with two of those officers in Godfrey.
Committee Chair Mike Walters added that Godfrey pays for those two deputies.
Connor said it is “difficult to get to all of the calls immediately, but we do the best we can.”
For example, he said that in a past call a deputy reported that it would take more than 30 minutes to get to a location even with lights and sirens because they cover such a large area. He explained that an officer may go from assisting a call in Venice to Highland. In emergency situations, he said other departments provide help when needed.