Lawrence Mitchell was sworn in as the newest member of Martinsville City Council at a regular meeting Tuesday. Mitchell was appointed to replace former council member Chad Martin.
“I look forward to serving the citizens of Martinsville,” Mitchell said, thanking the council members for the opportunity.
The Martinsville Police Department received accreditation under the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission (VLEPSC). Commission member, Sheriff Steve Draper, presented the certificate of accreditation to members of the police department.
“The Martinsville Police Department was the third agency to attain VLEPSC accreditation in the commonwealth,” Draper said. For a department to obtain accreditation under VLEPSC, it must bring administrative, operational, training, and personnel policy standards in compliance with 192 professional standards set by the commission. Compliance must be proved over a period of years.
“This is a four-year process,” said Police Chief Rob Fincher. He thanked members of the police department and retired chief, Eddie Cassidy, for their assistance with the accreditation process.
“We believe that accreditation is an essential part of building trust with the community that we serve,” Fincher said, and presented the annual report for the police department.
Crime is categorized as violent crime and crimes against 
property. Violent crime is classified homicide, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault.
“I’m happy to report from 2021 to 2022 we went from 65 total violent crimes to 57,” Fincher said. Property crimes are categorized as burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and arson. Property crimes fell from 322 in 2021 to 288 in 2022. There was one homicide in the city in 2021, and none in 2022.
There were no motor vehicle fatalities in the city in 2022, and an overall a slight decrease in motor vehicle accidents. However, Fincher indicated that there is a larger incidence of motor vehicle accidents with injuries. There is a correlation between speed and injuries in accidents.
Calls for service are categorized as officer initiated and those that are citizen driven. The number of citizen-driven calls has remained consistent. Phone calls represented the highest type of service call initiation with animal related calls being the second highest.
“That’s a good sign when we have things such as animal calls, extra patrols, vacation checks, well-being checks, as opposed to crimes of violence needing our service,” Fincher said.
The police department seeks grant funding on a yearly basis to lighten the burden on local taxpayers. The DMV offers grants to help with traffic enforcement with the local department seeking a speed enforcement and alcohol enforcement grant annually. A grant of $12,600 was received in 2022 that helped to assist with the purchase of intoximeters, radar units, and overtime for officers that are needed for traffic related issues. The department also received a justice assistance grant in the amount of $23,347 for various items such as uniform jackets, evidence cameras, and ballistic shields.
In other matters:
*April 2023 is being recognized as Martinsville’s observance of Bee City Month. The City of Martinsville is an affiliate of Bee City USA. Pollinators play a vital role in the trees and plants of our community. Bee City USA encourages local residents to participate in things that create healthy environments for pollinators by planting clover, not cutting yards below 4 inches, and not raking leaves. In accordance with Bee City Month Virginia Historic Garden Week will be held in April with a tour on April 19.
*Council Member Kathy Lawson expressed condolences to the family of city school employee, Latanya Billups, who passed away during a trip with the band recently.
*Martinsville has selected the law firm of Sands, based in Richmond, to fill the position of City Attorney. A representative will be attending the council meetings beginning in April. “They are a very capable firm,” said City Manager Leon Towarnicki.
*The Citizen Advisory Board is accepting applications. Boards and commissions information can be found online at www.martinsville.va.gov under the community tab and volunteers.
