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Posted: Apr 13, 2021 2:38 PMUpdated: Apr 14, 2021 7:16 PM

WCSO Hosts Agriculture Police Training

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Garrett Giles

The Washington County Sheriff's Office (WCSO) hosted a training put on by State Department of Agriculture Special Agents at the County Fairgrounds in Dewey over the passed two days.

WCSO Sheriff Scott Owen said the Case Agents with the State Department of Agriculture have been invaluable to Washington County and the surrounding area. Owen said they bring a resource that they didn't previously have. He said they bring a team effort that provides a higher level of service that will certainly increase the degree of professionalism in prosecution efforts locally.

Deputies and other law enforcement officials learned about livestock investigations, heavy equipment theft, wildland fire investigations and timber theft investigations. Here is a breakdown of each training:

Livestock Investigations - This training showed agencies how to determine if a theft has occurred, what evidence to look for upon arrival at the theft scene, the proper questions to ask the victim of the theft, the evidence located in the field/pastures that held the livestock, livestock identification, common livestock theft trends, orientation to sale barn paperwork, and shot/dead livestock investigation.

Heavy Equipment Theft - This training showed agencies how and where to locate id numbers on heavy equipment, how to determine if the identification numbers have been removed or altered, how to identify the equipment owner if abandoned equipment is located, common places to located and recover stolen heavy equipment, common ways to sell/dispose of stolen heavy equipment, online resources to assist with combating equipment theft, common equipment theft trends in Oklahoma.

Wildland Fire Investigation - This training introduced students to wildland arson investigations. It taught those in attendance how to determine if the wildland fire is "suspicious," common trends of a wildland arsonist, lawful and unlawful burning techniques, and state statutes pertaining to fire investigations.

Timber Theft Investigations - This training introduced students to timber theft investigations, how to determine what the stolen timber is worth, how the timber is commonly stolen and transported, required paperwork to cut/transport harvested timber, methods to locate stolen timber, and state statutes pertaining to timber theft investigations.

Sheriff Owen said this advanced training will help them become better investigators when it comes to recovering stolen and investigating arson cases. He said the training will help them in their continued efforts to successfully investigate difficult crimes for the public.

According to Sheriff Owen said there have been plenty of arrests related to wildland fires in recent years. Owen said arson cases cost thousands if not millions of dollars in damages each year. He said arson cases are also a public safety hazard that put people's lives at risk, which is why it's important to take these courses to gain advanced knowledge to protect the public. The most recent arson arrest in Washington County occurred in the Ochelata area in March 2021.

When it comes to policy matters, Sheriff Owen said they will probably do some review and end up with a specific focus on agricultural investigations. Owen said they'll primarily look at wildland fires, equipment theft and livestock investigations.

Six Washington County Sheriff's Office Deputies, Sheriff Owen, and a member of the Bartlesville Police Department attended the training. Members of law enforcement agencies throughout Oklahoma, including the Nowata and Osage County Sheriff's Offices, and agencies from southeast Kansas were in attendance as well.

Of final note, Sheriff Owen encouraged citizens to be careful with fire and report suspicious activities. If the WCSO doesn't get the call, Sheriff Owen said they won't know when or where they need to respond.

Sheriff Owen said other WCSO Deputies will be attending this training in Fairview this in June.


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