Criminals get smarter every day, so those charged with fighting crime must get smarter, too.

In the case of stolen water in Jemison, it also takes cooperation among city departments.

Several residents recently had been discovered stealing water from the city. Their service had been terminated, but they simply tampered with their meters to allow the water onto their property without paying for it.

In one case, the suspect had been receiving free water for about four years—68,000 gallons worth.

Without the work of the Jemison water and police departments, though, who knows how long the thievery would have lasted.

Police Chief Shane Fulmer said water department employees regularly check the meters of residents that have had their service discontinued. In the above case, Animal Control and Code Enforcement officer Bobby Tucker was investigating the residence after an animal control complaint and noticed evidence of running water.

Tucker knew water was supposed to have been cut off to the property, and so the suspect will face charges in municipal court in April.

“The Water Department does a good job of paying attention,” Fulmer said. “If anything is suspected, we work together to figure out what is going on.”

That’s the kind of attitude from public servants it takes to get things done.