Crime & Safety

February Crime Stats and Updates in Marple

Marple Police Chief Tom Murray gave an update on recent police incidents and updates for the month of February.

BROOMALL–"Quiet little Marple isn’t always so quiet," stated Marple Police Chief Tom Murray at a Board of Commissioners meeting on Monday night.

According to Murray, during the month of February, there were 23 thefts and five burglaries.

"Again, burglaries are a huge concern across the county. Just last week, when a resident observed someone trying to get into her house. She called police, and it took them two hours in the muddy Thursday afternoon to get the guy."

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The home burglar, identified as Larry Samuel, 32, of Darby, was arrested and faces 41 charges, including charges he allegedly made in a home burglary on Gradyville Road in Marple on Feb. 14, according to Murray. Samuel is also connected to another home burglary in Chester Township.

DNA Match on Home Burglary Incident 18 Months Ago

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Murray also announced that the police department received notice of a DNA match that they had received in their database in connection to a home burglary that occurred 18 months ago on Lewis Road in Broomall.

Murray said detectives were able to gather DNA evidence during the scene of the crime in which they were not able to receive a match–until now.

"The database stores it and cycles it again to compare it against any new entries," explained Murray. 

Murray confirmed that the suspect is from Delaware County and a warrant is in place for his arrest.

"We will get our guy in the not-so-distant future," said Murray.

Arrest Made on Scrap Metal Thief

Murray said a man involved in taking scrap metal from 's yard has been arrested. Scrap metal, said Murray, is a problem in the industrial area of the township.

"We actually had this individual on video from one of the businesses down there and we basically knew what we were looking for. He has been charged," said Murray.

According to Murray, the man was allegedly stealing scrap metal from the business's waste bins. "And obviously it’s got value and they don't want someone stealing it because they're recycling it for themselves," said Murray.

58% Clearance Rate On Crime In Marple

In the last three years, Murray said the clearance rate on crime was at 58 percent–an all-time high.

"We had a little over 900 part 1 and part 2 crimes in the township during 2011 but we solved 58 percent of those crimes," said Murray. "It's a phenomenal number compared to the national average."

According to Murray, the national average of solving crimes is in the high 20 percentage rate.

"I looked at the numbers in the previous two to three years, and I noticed that we’re constantly moving up," said Murray. "Three years ago it was 51 percent; last year it was 48 percent; and this year it's 58 percent. They're probably the highest three years that I can ever remember. We were consistently in the low- to mid-40s."

Murray credits the increase amount of solved crimes in due part to information sharing. Murray, who chairs the Crime Statistics Committee for Delaware County, said they started the committee about four years ago for the mere purpose of information sharing in which a couple of representatives from each police department would meet once a month to share information.

However, since then, the committee has evolved and has created a technology-based information sharing database for each police department in the county to access.

"We're constantly sharing. It's available for every law enforcement officer in the county. When I show up to work tomorrow, they all know what’s going on in the other municipalities," said Murray.

The committee is currently working on expanding the information sharing database with a partnership with the county's District Attorney's Office.


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