If the only knowledge someone has of Greenmont comes from social media, the neighborhood probably seems dangerous and overrun with crime.
However, the crimes are mostly ones of convince and opportunity, with little danger, according to president of the Greenmont Neighborhood Association Ivy Deal.
She described her neighborhood as a thriving, friendly and lovely place to live.
“Social media tends to blow things up,” Deal said. “But, you know, lock your car doors.”
Morgantown’s Deputy Chief of Police Eric Powell said people also post videos of alleged crimes on social media and don’t share them with the police, leading to what is essentially, a trial by social media.
Viewers see or hear the side that stirs emotions but Powell said the police have to get both sides of the story and figure out what really happened — with the truth usually somewhere in the middle.
Sometimes, Powell will see a post on Facebook complaining about police inaction, only to realize the poster is venting and haven’t reported anything. He said he does not monitor Facebook and has learned to take things with a “considerable grain of salt.”
Other times, the issue could be that someone reported an issue, say, gunshots, and then never followed up to see what police found, Powell said. People frequently report things but don’t want to talk to the police, which can make it difficult to tell someone what the investigation led to.
Responding to every social media post would just be running around putting out fires and addressing claims that haven’t been reported. It’s time-consuming and takes away from the Morgantown Police Department’s time to deal with reported crimes, Powell said.
“Please, if something happens or if something suspicious is going on, defer posting those things on social media until after you’ve reported it to the police or report it to the police in lieu of reporting it on social media,” Powell said. “I think you’ll see results. Maybe not today and maybe not tomorrow but we do do our job and we will investigate and try to resolve.”
Deal also encouraged neighborhood residents to report sketchy behavior and said the neighborhood does not encourage vigilantism.
Another contributing factor to the appearance of more crime could be the fact that COVID-19 has caused the court system to handle minor offenses different than usual, with a greater chance of a suspect being released on a personal recognizance bond, Powell said.
There were 38 burglary reports in Morgantown from Jan. 1 to May 21. Seven, or 18%, were in Greenmont. In the same time period last year, there were 40 cases citywide. In this year’s cases, four had suspects, two were charged and two were not because the victims did not want to press charges, Powell said.
Greenmont has six reports of theft from a vehicle in the same Jan. 1 to May 21 period, or 13% of the city’s 46 reported cases. Powell said three suspects have been identified in six cases, with one of them being arrested twice and released.
