Trenton police use technology to catch burglars in the act
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TRENTON, Tenn. — West Tennessee officers are catching burglars in the act all thanks to silent but effective technology. It is as easy as turning a key to an alarm box to catch a criminal. “You’re going to be caught on the scene or shortly after you break in,” Lt. James Wilson of the Trenton Police Department said. The alarms are alerting the police without a burglar even knowing it, and they said it is making a big impact. “It’s a silent alarm, so they never know they even tripped an alarm,” Wilson said. If a silent alarm is tripped at any Trenton business, a signal will come into every officer’s patrol car, right over the radio. So, whoever is closest can get right to the scene. “It immediately goes to our officers on the street,” Wilson said. “They’re then able to respond much quicker that way.” The effectiveness is something the owner of one of Trenton’s most burglarized businesses said he knows first hand. “I know they’re very good, because I even come in sometimes and don’t cut it off and the next thing I know the police are around front,” Douglas Seward, the owner of This Is It BBQ, said. But besides the false alarms, Trenton police said they have arrested three people with the alarms, including Thomas McElrath, who broke into This Is It BBQ on Jan. 18. “When they have a break-in, they ask for it. They come over and ask us if we have one available that can be put in their business,” Wilson said. But with each alarm having a rotating schedule, Wilson said this will keep the element of surprise. “Even if they might not see an alarm from a company, they still don’t know if our alarm box is there or not,” Wilson said. The Trenton Police Department said they average around 60 burglaries a year, but they hope that number goes down as more people realize these alarms are out there.
