Chief Birbeck checks in on Facebook

Olney Police Chief Dan Birbeck on Dec. 29 began what will be weekly Facebook Live updates for the community on the goings on of the Olney Police Department. The live stream of the 20- to 30-minute updates will take place on Fridays at 3 p.m., Chief Birbeck said.

Chief Birbeck is raising his visibility in Olney and beyond as he campaigns for Young County Sheriff against incumbent Travis Babcock.

Chief Birbeck reviewed the City’s holiday schedules for services such as Christmas tree pickup, warned New Year’s revelers to call for a ride rather than drive impaired, talked about the drop in crime rates and informed the public about fresh incidents committed by people who did not make the “nice” list.

OPD’s newest addition, Officer Clayton Moore, who has seven years experience mainly in narcotics interdiction, will be “pounding the pavement out there … and trying to make a further dent in what we’ve already accomplished here,” Chief Birbeck said. The hiring of Officer Moore brings the Department to full staffing, he said.

Drug arrests are down along with Olney’s crime rate in general, with burglaries and thefts dropping by 80 to 90 percent, he said. “In 2020 when I first came here, we were getting pretty ate up with thefts and people getting things stolen out of their yards,” he said. In 2023, OPD investigators solved all three reported burglaries, arrested the suspects and returned the property. “A shout out to the investigators that did that and the teamwork that goes on here between the officers with the Olney Police Department,” he said.

He also advised residents to be cognizant of seasonal depression and mental illness, and to “check in on our neighbors and make sure that they’re doing okay.”

“Wish them well, invite them to events and just kind of take care of them and if they need help feel free to reach out to us,” he said. “We have resources that we can get you help for somebody that’s experiencing depression over the holidays and we’re happy to talk to them and then we’ll get them in contact with somebody that can actually [provide] some mental health care for them and see if we can’t get them in a better spot.”

Chief Birbeck outlined the code enforcement’s 2024 plan to condemn and demolish four dilapidated properties and houses per month. “These are houses that are falling down or are to a point that they’re really a public nuisance or a health and safety hazard for anybody to live in,” he said.

He said code enforcement officer Cpl. Joe Logan has seen a resurgence of people living in structures with no plumbing. “Corporal Logan went out today and tagged about four sheds that people were occupying as residents. It is actually a violation of city ordinance to live in a structure that is not a residential structure or designed for that,” he said. “So a shed that does not have running water, electricity, things like that, are not locations where you can establish residency. … We don’t necessarily want to make people homeless, but we also have resources and things that we can hook them up with if they need that in order to not be put out on the street.”

OPD participated in an arrest for possession of marijuana on Dec. 24 and responded to an unattended death on Grove Street on Dec. 19 that was the result of a medical emergency, he said.

He revealed that an incident on Main Street involving several patrol cars was a drug interdiction stop of a vehicle, and that commotion east of town on Dec. 27 involved officers trying to stop a man in a red pickup truck from running over his girlfriend.

“We did end up arresting an individual who assaulted his girlfriend, and it appeared that he was trying to run her down with a vehicle,” he said. “He was arrested for possession of methamphetamines and assault.”

To watch the full video, go to the Olney Police Department’s Facebook page.