Laserfiche WebLink
<br />meaning. Not only is the criminal forewarned by the signs that <br />suspicious activity will be reported by the residentst but that there <br />is extra patrol in the neighborhood. Children are also encouraged <br />to participate in Neighborhood Watch activities. Under the super- <br />vision and approval of their parentst children can be block captains. <br />Since children many times know more about the activity within a <br />neighborhood than adultst they are a valuable source of information. <br />This also instills the value of crime prevention in the child at an <br />early age. <br /> <br />Another successful method is contacting crime victims to offer train- <br />ing on an individual or group level. Many timest these individuals <br />are highly motivated to help themselves and their neighborhood. They <br />have been valuable to us in raising the consciousness of people to <br />get invloved in crime prevention. <br /> <br />Juvenile Crime Prevention Programs - In order to educate children to <br />increase their awareness of crime prevention at an early aget the <br />McGruff Puppet Program and Officer Ollie and Friends Program is <br />utilized in the school district. We have seen immediate results from <br />the children. We have documented cases where children reported in- <br />cidents of child abuse and drug abuset after the training because they <br />realized they must tell someone of these activities. We also have <br />cases where children thwarted attempted pick ups by strangers using the <br />training given in the program. By continuing our educationt more <br />children can be trained in this area. <br /> <br />Drug and Alcohol Awareness - The Crime Prevention officers are active <br />members of several community groups initiating public training on <br />drug and alcohol awareness. This is done through instruction in the <br />public schools and Southwest Texas State University. In additiont <br />seminars are given to business and civic groups. A coalition has <br />been formed between students and community groups denouncing the <br />abuse of alcohol and drugs. One result has been the banning of <br />alcoholic beverages at fraternity and sorority rush parties. Pro- <br />grams in these areas are a priority and will be stressed in the up- <br />coming year. <br /> <br />Business and Residential Security - In addition to conducting surveys <br />for completed structurest the officers contact builders during construc- <br />tion. Security suggestions can be offered that can save the owner the <br />cost of having to replace inadequate security devices or change the <br />environmental design once the structure is completed. We also work <br />with builders to offer suggestions and materials on how to increase <br />construction site security. <br /> <br />Other Crime Prevention Services Offered - Listed are the crime preven- <br />tion services presently offered that are a basic part of the program. <br />These include shoplifting preventiont employee theft and pilferaget <br />inventory controlt the proper method of acceptance of checks and credit <br />cardst child abuset sexual assaultt senior citizen securitYt and <br />armed robbery prevention. All arehighly successful and repeatedly <br />requested by the community. <br /> <br />lSb <br />