Donna Swicegood | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) | May 1, 2008

The swelling population in the Mooresville area not only means more tax dollars, but it is also taxing the public services, particularly the Mooresville Police Department.

Chief John Crone said finding qualified officers to serve the growing population is likely to be a problem for many years to come.

“It’s getting harder and harder to find police officers to keep up with the growth,” he said.

Crone said the general rule of thumb is 2.2 officers per 1,000 people. “We’re adding 1,500 (people) a year, and that’s three officers a year,” he said.

He said the department is currently down five officers, with two more leaving for higher-paid jobs in the private security sector.

Crone said this is a problem facing most departments in North Carolina. Part of the reason, he said, is because more officers now need to be more technology savvy, and it’s difficult to find people who meet all the qualifications. “It’s a struggle for police to keep up,” he said.

Crone said one of the biggest issues facing the Mooresville Police Department, as well as those south of Mooresville, is the influx of gang problems from the Charlotte area.

“We’ve had some break-ins at motel parking lots, and we’ve even had a home invasion, and a lot of that is gang-related violent crime coming out of Charlotte,” he said.

Addressing the gang issue is one that all of the law enforcement agencies in Iredell County are looking to do. Dealing with gangs is part of the ongoing training for many officers in all of the law enforcement agencies in Iredell County.

Another thing officers are dealing with is refereeing arguments between neighbors over homeowner’s association issues.

“We’re having so many people move here from other parts of the country where things were handled differently, and that’s creating some unexpected problems,” Crone said.

He said more and more, the MPD is getting requests for officers at homeowner’s association meetings in case disagreements get out of hand.

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