KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – Knoxville Police Department Chief Paul Noel joined WVLT News Tuesday afternoon to discuss preparing for big events, the Mounted Patrol Unit and adjusting to the warmer weather.
As warmer temperatures return to East Tennessee, this means more people outside and an increase in big events across the city. Noel said there’s certain preparations that go into being ready to host large events, such as being prepared for safety threats.
“This weekend is really going to be packed downtown with Big Ears and a bunch of events going on,” Noel said. “We work really hard with not only our internal team, but with community partners and some of our fellow agencies as well to make sure that we have everything covered just in case there are any potential problems.”
With the big events brings changes year-over-year in how KPD prepares. One large change is the Mounted Patrol Unit, which made its debut last spring.
“As the city grows and as the events grow, we really need to put more officers out on foot,” Noel said. “We want our officers to be out and be visible, and what better way to be visible than to be on horseback? It’s a great community relations piece for us, as well. Every time I see horses out downtown, there’s a mob of people around them. People have so much fun with them.”
Noel also said the department tends to see more crime in the spring and summer months when temperatures are warmer. However, this year has been an exception, so far.
“We normally have more crime when things warm up. So far this year, and I’m going to jinx this, we’ve not had one homicide. The last time we went this far without a homicide was 1988,” Noel said. “The summertime is more of a challenge. Kids are out of school, and a lot more people are out and about, so our officers have to work harder.”
