South District
The South Patrol District, which consists of all areas to the south of Innes Street and to the West of Statesville Boulevard, is commanded by Lt. Karen Barbee.
The South Patrol District is comprised of five separate patrol beats, each of which are patrolled 24 hours a day. In July, 2007, the City of Salisbury annexed five additional communities, three of which have been incorporated into the already existing patrol beats in the South District. The South District is staffed by 22 patrol officers. Of that number, 2 are “Flex” patrol officers, who vigilantly roam the entire district and who fill in vacant patrol beats during the absence of the regularly assigned officers. In addition to these 22 officers, the South Patrol District also consists of two Sergeants; Sgt. Paul Johnston and Sgt. John Lanier; who supervise the patrol officers and oversee their daily operation. The Sergeants report directly to the District Commander, Lt. Barbee.
The patrol officers in the South District stay very busy and have plenty of opportunities to do the things that they entered this profession for! In addition to responding to many calls for service by our citizens, the South District patrol officers are very skilled and often times complete their own criminal investigations, depending upon the specifics of the case in question. These officers also spend a great deal of time conducting aggressive, pro-active vehicular patrols and foot patrols as well as other special projects/details, which are aimed at improving the quality of life within the communities they serve.
The officers of the South Patrol District are very active within their patrol beats. Because of the design of each patrol beat and the philosophy of the Salisbury Police Department, which is committed to Community Oriented Policing, these officers are able to become acquainted with the citizens they serve and very familiar with their communities. This is helpful because it increases the ability for a patrol officers to know who belongs in specific areas and when something or someone is out of place or suspicious.
Each month, Lieutenant Barbee can be found at the Salisbury Neighborhood Action Group “SNAG”, which is an organized forum, held at the Police Department, in which citizens of our city may come and speak about specific concerns they have or where they may come to merely hear an update by the Police Department concerning major criminal investigations, upcoming events, police activities for the previous month, and more. In addition to the SNAG meetings, Lt. Barbee also attends the other organized community group meetings to provide them with updates within the district and to receive citizen’s concerns of problems that need to be addressed by the South District patrol officers.
The Patrol Officers, Sergeants, and District Commander, Lt. Barbee, are extremely proud to serve the South District of the City of Salisbury. Each of us are committed in our partnership with the community and will constantly strive to serve our citizens with firm, consistent, and fair enforcement of the laws and ordinances in order to keep the community a safe place to live, work, and play.