The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

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  • Raleigh County sheriff’s Capt. Gordon Gregory shows Rep. Nick Rahall the new crime scene van’s blood kit during an unveiling of the new vehicle Saturday at the Raleigh County Sheriff's Department. Christopher J. Jackson

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  • Rep. Nick Rahall speaks with Nicholas County sheriff’s Deputy J.W. Evans Jr., from left, Summers County Sheriff Ed Dolphin, Greenbrier County Sheriff J.W. Childers and Raleigh County sheriff’s Capt. Gordon Gregory inside the Raleigh County sheriff's new crime scene van Saturday at the sheriff's department in Beckley. Christopher J. Jackson

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June 20, 2010

Raleigh County sheriff unveils state-of-the-art crime scene van

By Andrea Lannom Register-Herald Reporter

BECKLEY — Congressman Nick Rahall and law enforcement officials from several counties gathered at the Raleigh County sheriff’s office Saturday to tour a new, state-of-the-art crime scene van.

Rahall says it’s the first crime scene van in the state and he has seen a direct need for this type of equipment. Not only will officials be able to speed up prosecution, he says, but the van will also benefit the community.

“They will be able to gather and disseminate evidence faster and have a speedier prosecution,” he said. “People of the community will directly benefit from this.”

Law enforcement officials will be able to conduct investigations from the “mobile lab” and also be able to connect with the Regional Organized Crime Center to run information on the scene and turn evidence into suspects. Although it might seem like an episode of “CSI,” Sheriff Steve Tanner says it is a real way to fight crime.

“We can find relatives, where they live, where they work, anything like that,” he said. “This is darn close to something you would see on TV, but this is the real deal. It’s this year’s model and we are on the cutting edge of technology.”

The sheriff’s office received $100,000 in federal money and money from the county to pay for the $115,000 van.

Tanner says that although the van will be situated at the Raleigh County sheriff’s office, it will be taken to other counties as needed. To make matters simpler, Capt. Gordon Gregory has put together an owner’s manual for each piece of equipment.

Tanner said counties have a mutual aid agreement where they will not have to get special permission to use the van, and training will be provided. The Raleigh Sheriff’s Department received the van last month and has been going through training. It will train other counties to use it when the need arises. However, Tanner stresses members of these agencies will continue to conduct their own investigations. 

“Raleigh County is proud to host this piece of equipment, but any agency in West Virginia, whether it’s sheriffs’ departments, state or municipal, will be able to use it,” Gregory said. “Criminals certainly don’t obey county lines, and all of us are fighting for the same purpose.”

Rahall says even though West Virginia might not have a huge crime rate, keeping up with technology is the least it can do for law enforcement officials.

“We are lucky that in the state of West Virginia that we have a low crime rate and we can credit that due to these brave men that we have,” he said. “These men are working behind the scenes so that we can rest assured at night that we are in a safe environment.”

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Today's Front Page
  • visit Getting technical assistance

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  • OPEB bill passes without changes

    Republican fears that ingredients of “Obama care” are embedded in it failed Wednesday to sway the House of Delegates from altering a Senate bill retiring the Other Post-Employment Benefits liability.
    One by one, with a few Republicans voting against them, the House shot down amendments that would have eliminated a dozen points of SB469.

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    Skin artists can imprint no tattoos on minors before their time.
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    Raney responded to a question concerning Wednesday’s announcement that FirstEnergy Corp., will retire three coal-fired power plants that are part of its Monongahela Power Co., subsidiary in northern West Virginia.

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  • House amends child neglect law

    Her voice choked with emotion, Delegate Barbara Fleischauer arose on the House floor Wednesday with a sordid tale of a child born with organs outside her body and only a single lung.
    A victim of repeated neglect, Fleischauer said Madison Violet Dodson died, one year and three months after arrival, the night her father left the child on the floor and went to sleep.
    Minutes after she spoke, the House unanimously approved a bill that alters the child neglect law so that a tiered system of offenses is provided.

    February 9, 2012

  • Senate forbids tattoos for anyone under 16

    Skin artists can imprint no tattoos on minors before their time.
    At least that was the thinking Wednesday in the Senate’s unanimous approval of a bill that makes it unlawful for anyone under 16 to walk into a tattoo parlor and get a skin picture.

    February 8, 2012

  • House amends child neglect law

    Her voice choked with emotion, Delegate Barbara Fleischauer arose on the House floor Wednesday with a sordid tale of a child born with organs outside her body and only a single lung.
    A victim of repeated neglect, Fleischauer said Madison Violet Dodson died, one year and three months after arrival, the night her father left the child on the floor and went to sleep.

    February 8, 2012

  • sign Sparks are flying

    Mike Williams, an employee with SKYWAY Signs and Graphics out of Bastian, Va., is showered with sparks as he uses a cutting torch to help dismantle the old Raleigh Mall sign Tuesday afternoon in Beckley.

    February 8, 2012 1 Photo

  • Bill would strengthen copper theft laws

    Copper thieves, led largely by an insatiable hunger for narcotic drugs, are vandalizing telephone lines, even swiping manhole covers, in what one senator terms “an epidemic” spreading across West Virginia.
    A fresh bill put on the Senate floor Tuesday by nine senators seeks to throw up a roadblock when stolen copper is fenced at scrap metal dealers and hopefully open a trail back to the bandits.
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    “It bans the purchase of copper that’s been burned,” explained a co-sponsor, Sen. Richard Browning, D-Wyoming.

    February 8, 2012

  • ‘Paint the town blue’

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