Greene County Attorney Thomas Laehn is looking to change the perception of crime in the county.

He says he’s been told by local law enforcement agencies that Greene County has the reputation of being lenient on punishment for crimes committed in the county. He adds that there’s recording of criminals in neighboring counties saying that when they get out of jail, they are going to Greene County because they can get away with crime. Laehn says that as county attorney, he wants to dedicate himself to changing that mindset.

“We are going to make sure that if a crime occurs justice is served. The penalty needs to be proportionate to the offense. And we need to make it clear that Greene County is no longer open for criminal activity.”

Greene County Sheriff Jack Williams talks about the strong relationship he and his deputies have with Laehn, which creates an environment to better help prosecute criminal cases.

“And that helps just tremendously with morale with the deputies. They are seeing that he’s actually trying and fighting to get some kind of a punishment whether it be fines, jail time or prison time. And we have to work together to successfully prosecute cases. If Thomas (Laehn) needs something he lets us know. We try and communicate back and forth so we know where we’re going (and) what both can agree to as the end results of the case.”

However, with several criminal cases to handle every year, not every case can go to trial and there’s many times where cases are resolved with plea negotiations. Williams points out a factor that can deter all of their and Laehn’s on a case.

“Thomas is trying to get punishments for it, but the judges are still not issuing out type of punishment that will try and convince them to change their ways.”

Laehn recently took over as county attorney for retired County Attorney Nic Martino who held the position for 42 years.