BPD Revives Street Crime Unit

KTVQ.com reports the Billings Police Department is reviving the Street Crime Unit.  The department is now reportedly running with full staffing levels, as deficiencies led to the unit shutting down in the late 90s.  But, beginning in 2018, a five-personnel Street Crime Unit will resume actively investigating so-called quality of life crimes — burglaries, thefts, stolen guns and vehicles — all of which have seen a sharp increase over the past few years.

Now that BPD will have a dedicated unit, police are looking to cut down on these crimes and find those responsible.  Lt. Neil Lawrence said [quote] “You’re going to have officers out there in an undercover capacity conducting investigations,” [end quote]  Three patrol officers will be assigned, including detectives, making criminals think twice because the unit could be watching even if they can’t see them.