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Police chief: county jail changes let officers clear longstanding warrants; fingerprint from ATM skimmer yields ID
Summary
Chief Segal told the council that after the county reassigned jail oversight and appointed a director, local officers could book misdemeanor warrants and that a fingerprint on an ATM skimmer returned a positive ID from the state crime lab, advancing an active fraud investigation.
Chief Segal updated the council on two public-safety items. First, he said the county commissioners moved jail oversight to an appointed director (James Byrd) and that operational changes have allowed local officers to book people on misdemeanor warrants they previously could not. He described multiple recent arrests tied to outstanding warrants and said the change has improved officers’ ability to address local crime and get people into court.
Second, Segal described a fraud investigation in which officers recovered a skimmer device from a local ATM, sent it to the state patrol crime lab and—after about six months—received a positive fingerprint identification linking a suspect in the system with a history of fraud-type crimes. Segal said officers are actively working with the jurisdiction where the identified person lives to develop charges and take the case to the prosecutor’s office.
Why it matters: The jail operational change has practical consequences for policing and case processing in South Bend. The forensic fingerprint hit advances a fraud investigation and may lead to prosecutions.
Councilors responded with brief acknowledgments and follow-ups about process; no formal council action was recorded on these items.
