Johnson County Prosecutor Lance Hamner and Sheriff Duane Burgess are the stars of a new billboard located near the County Line Road exit of Interstate 65 in Greenwood.
Submitted photo
A new billboard near Greenwood’s northern border warns criminals they’ll face prison time if they commit crimes in Johnson County.
Johnson County Prosecutor Lance Hamner and Sheriff Duane Burgess are the stars of the digital billboard, located between the Main Street and County Line Road exits of southbound Interstate 65. The billboard, which launched Monday, features photos of Hamner and Burgess and a message — “ATTENTION: CRIMINALS. Cross this line — you’ll do prison time.”
The billboard advertisement costs about $3,200. It is being paid for with a discretionary fund derived from fees paid by criminal defendants, Hamner said.
“We’re basically taking the money from the criminal and funneling it back, in this instance, to warn them to not commit crimes in this county,” he said.
It is expected to be up one month, which Hamner says will be long enough to send a message.
The billboard is a result of frequent conversations Hamner has had with officers both north and south of County Line Road. Officers from Indianapolis and Greenwood have frequently told him people they’ve arrested are surprised to learn they had crossed the Johnson County line.
Hamner wants people to know where the county line is and what it can cost to cross it, he said.
“We’d like that notion among the criminals that if you crossed the line and tried to victimize Johnson County residents, that you’re going to pay a price for it,” he said.
One of Hamner’s goals as prosecutor is to put a stop to Marion County crime leaching into Johnson County. This is also not the first time he has referenced how criminals crossing the county line will do prison time in Johnson County, doing so in a Daily Journal story from June about how the county jail was seeing higher numbers of incarcerated Indianapolis residents.
The billboard was Hamner’s idea, and Burgess joined in. The two men have had an “extensive” working relationship since Hamner’s first stint as prosecutor, Burgess said.
A lot of press releases from the sheriff’s office and the prosecutor’s office highlight the great relationships between the county’s law enforcement agencies, Burgess said. The billboard is another example of the relationship and a way to be proactive, he said.
“We’re trying to think out of the box because that’s what you got to do in this day and age in protecting people,” Burgess said. “I think this is one way to let folks know we’re doing everything we can do.”
People who commit crimes in Johnson County will get their cases prosecuted and go to prison. Officials do not want crime to “run amok,” he said.
“I will do anything I can do under the law to protect the citizens and keep this county safe,” Burgess said. “I think [the billboard] spells it out. … I want the citizens to know that we’re working hard to keep them safe, and that relationship, that partnership is going to continue to grow.”
The billboard is hoped to be a deterrent for offenders who want to commit crimes in Johnson County, both Hamner and Burgess said.
“I would like to see crime go down everywhere in the state of Indiana. But my first most important concern is to keep it out of our county,” Hamner said.
Burgess has not yet heard any feedback about the billboard and does not have any concerns about it. On the other hand, Hamner has heard “extremely positive” feedback, he said.
“Everyone who’s seen it loves it, and is happy that we’ve done it,” Hamner said.
Everyone wants to be protected, and the billboard is just showing that if someone commits “heinous crimes” in the county, there will be a penalty, Burgess said.
There are no plans for additional billboards as of now. Hamner expects pictures of it will be shared everywhere and throughout the “criminal underworld,” he said.
“This is going to spread out there among those people by word of mouth, saying ‘Do not cross the county line.’ And that’s our goal,” Hamner said. “… If you don’t want to work for a living and you want to try to support yourself by stealing from other people, stay out of this county because you are only going to end up in prison.”
