CHPD News

As is usual in the the State of Indiana-like many other states, newly legislated laws; as well as, modifications and revisions to existing laws become effective and enforced on July 1st.  Full access to all of Indiana’s laws/statutes can be found online at http://iga.in.gov/legislative/laws/2020/ic/; however a spreadsheet summary of all new Indiana 2020 laws can be downloaded by CLICKING HERE. The Charlestown Police Department would like to point out a couple of these new laws that became effective this July 1st, 2020.   One is regarding the sales and possession of Tobacco and Vaping products; whereas the minimum age of sale or possession of a tobacco or vaping product, including e-cigarettes, is now twenty-one (21) years. The minimum age was moved from eighteen to twenty-one by Indiana legislators; and is now in affect. The second Indiana law modification of major interest is to the Distracted Driving statute; now further restricting the…

Purchasing items online has become a normal part of everyday life, just as child custody exchanges have become more and more prevalent. Meeting in a neutral and safe location to perform custody exchanges or purchase transactions, especially with someone unknown, can sometimes become heated, tricky and perilous. For these reasons, law enforcement all across the country are setting up Safe Exchange Zones, where online transactions and child custody exchanges can occur under video surveillance to provide greater safety and documentation for all parties involved. The City of Charlestown and Charlestown Police Department recognizes the value of the above outlined reasons, and have created a Safe Exchange Zone in the east parking lot of police headquarters, located at 703 Main Street, in Charlestown. Two parking spaces have been marked and posted reserved for the purpose of safe exchange; available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week without reservation. The Charlestown…

The Charlestown Police Department Neighborhood Watch Program, in partnership with Charlestown’s State Farm Dale Robinson Agency roll out of “DNA for Property” during the 2019 Founders Day Celebration. The Charlestown Police Department is a proactive agency and is always looking for new resources that will help protect the valuables of both the residents and businesses of the community. CHPD plans to use the DNA for Property program to enhance their current efforts with their neighborhood watch and other crime prevention campaigns. “DNA for Property” is a special forensic adhesive that can be applied to all types of valuables. The adhesive is swabbed on an item and will permanently dry clear and invisible to the naked eye. Suspended in the adhesive are thousands of “microscopic dots” .05mm in size, that is smaller than the size of a grain of sand. Chemically etched into the microdot is a unique alpha-numeric PIN (personal…