Muncey stands up for citizens

Chief of Police Larry Muncey said law enforcement has always seemed like a natural fit for him.

Muncey

Muncey began his position in Madison in July 2009. He previously worked as Admin Watch Commander for the Horry County Police Department in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

He served in the Army Reserves and active duty Navy. He said law enforcement is similar to a military organization.

“It just seemed like a natural fit,” he said about his choice to pursue law enforcement.

He said the biggest initiative for the department since he has been in Madison was the community outreach program.

A year ago, the department connected with different communities to find out what citizens think about police performance and in what areas the department could improve.

Muncey said the survey showed that people wanted more police in neighborhoods to keep an eye on suspicious activity.

“Some other upcoming things we’re looking forward to is the grand opening of addition to the building and the unveiling of the donated corvette in a few weeks,” Muncey said.

He said the new addition to the building will add a training room and Emergency Operation Center (EOC), where in case of a city emergency, experts in different fields could gather in one place to discuss a plan of action.

“For example, if we had a train derailment that started a gas cloud, part of that is law enforcement, another big part is fire and EMS,” he said. “We have to set up points of evacuation and plot where that cloud is going to float. We get all these people that have an expertise in those areas and orchestrate from that one room in one unified command.”

Madison already has one EOC, this would be a secondary location, which Muncey said most cities do not have.

“In the event that something happens to our primary EOC located in Huntsville, we can fall back onto Madison.”

With a population of around 42,800 people, Madison has 71 patrol officers and 38 support staffers, which averages 1.7 officers for every 1,000 residents.

Muncey said these numbers are “extremely good” for the taxpayers because the national average is 2.4 officers for every 1,000 residents.

“Crime is relatively low,” he said. “The number one call that we receive is probably the same everywhere in the country-criminal domestic violence, followed by people breaking and entering into vehicles and burglaries into homes.”

He said with the trends of the economy, the city has seen a substantial increase in property crimes, but conversely, a decrease in violent crimes.

“Madison is an absolutely wonderful and dynamic city,” Muncey said. “We have some of the best and brightest individuals. I think a lot of police officers don’t like to see people taken advantage of, and this is where you can actually change that. It’s nice to stand up for people who can’t stand up for themselves.”