By Joy Lukachick and Todd South
Chattanooga Times Free Press
DALTON, Tenn. — This week’s frozen blast kept criminals off the streets and police cruisers parked, waiting for calls.
A few offenders who braved the weather led police straight to their doorsteps, police said.
Police said they followed the footprints of two burglary suspects who broke into a liquor store in Dalton, Ga., straight to their front door. Sheriff’s deputies said they did the same in the southern part of Catoosa County after an offender attempted a car break-in.
“Snow is causing its own set of problems for a getaway,” said Dalton police spokesman Bruce Frazier. “It’s something people around here don’t ever think about.”
Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia police say they’ve seen a dramatic dip in crime since the storm hit Sunday night. Calls for violent crimes, burglaries, thefts and other offenses significantly slowed as the snowstorm rolled through.
“Even a burglar doesn’t want to walk through 6 inches of snow,” said Chief Deputy Robert Paris of the Gordon County Sheriff’s Office.
“Criminals are the same as everybody else; they’re uncomfortable with the cold as everyone else is,” said East Ridge police spokesman Officer Erik Hopkins.
But an increase in calls for stranded motorists or people injured by falling on ice kept officers and emergency workers busy.
Police arrested nine people and booked them into the Hamilton County Jail on Tuesday, compared with 51 and 34 for the same dates in November and December, when temperatures were 10 to 30 degrees warmer.
Surrounding counties reported fewer than half the usual number of arrests when comparing the same time frames, booking reports show.
Instead of answering calls for crimes, police and sheriff’s offices were called to assist drivers stuck in ditches, check on family members without heat and work car accidents, said Whitfield County Sheriff’s Detective Lt. Nancy Chadwick.
“We have calls, but it’s just a different type of calls,” she said.
Police have had to shift normal routines with the heavy snow and ice over the last week.
Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond said he set up a command center at the west annex on Dayton Boulevard and stocked patrol cars with blankets and water for distribution in emergencies.
With help from reserve deputies and equipment such as snow tires and chains for driving, Hammond said the weather hasn’t presented too many problems.
“You’re going to find with criminals, they don’t like to be cold, either,” he said.
In Dalton, snow plows drove ahead of firetrucks and ambulances to clear paths when emergency calls came in during the worst of the storm, Frazier said.
In Catoosa County, patrol cars had to be parked and officers borrowed four-wheel-drive vehicles, said Capt. Scott Jordan with the sheriff’s office.
Chattanooga officers spent Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in their assigned patrol zones but were told to stay parked, awaiting emergency calls, rather than patrolling icy roads, said department spokeswoman Sgt. Jerri Weary.
In East Ridge, officers also tried to limit their driving but still responded to calls for service, Hopkins said.
Hamilton County 911 Director of Operations Jeff Carney said calls were few on Sunday but increased as the weather warmed.
“As businesses start opening up yesterday and today ... we started seeing more wrecks, today more slips and falls,” Carney said Wednesday afternoon.
One bright side to the snow was its timing: When the flakes started falling late Sunday night, few drivers were on the road.
The 911 center’s computer mapping helps operators route emergency workers around streets clogged with stuck cars and warns them if they’re headed for a steep hill that might require trekking on foot to the house rather than attempting to pull up to the front door.
Chattanooga Fire Department spokesman Bruce Garner said firefighters haven’t seen a lot of house fires but have seen an uptick in wrecks, cars in ditches and stranded motorists.
“What we’re worried about now is a drop in temperatures” which could bring more house fires, Garner said. Space heaters or kerosene-fueled heaters used in homes during cold snaps can be dangerous if not used properly.
“Keep anything that will burn at least three feet away,” he said. “If used improperly, they can result in a real tragedy.”
Now is also a good time for residents to check their smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, he added.
Staff writers Carey O’Neil and Jeremy Belk contributed to this story.
Copyright 2011 Chattanooga Publishing Company