The Benton Police Department is launching a new community orientated policing based program called “In Your Business” for the month of December. During the program, all officers within the department will be tasked with getting out of their patrol cars and visiting businesses throughout the city during the month of December.
The primary goal and focus of the “In Your Business” program is to increase officer visibility and forge relationships with business owners in the community. Officers are to go inside businesses and introduce themselves to the owners and workers. They will provide them with contact information and material on joining the Benton Business Watch program if they aren’t already a member.
By increasing officer visibility in businesses, it will help slow down crimes that are attributable to seasonal types of crime such as thefts and Breaking or Entering. It will help deter crime because officers will be stopping by businesses, both day and night, unannounced and it will keep criminals wondering when and where an officer could show up.
Officers meeting with business owners will help provide buy in to helping fight crime in their districts. By meeting and introducing themselves, the officers can forge communications and relationships that will help deter crime and also solve crimes that do occur.
Due to the recently passed public safety tax, we’ve been able to add additional officers to our department. This is now allowing us to conduct proactive crime deterrent and community orientated policing programs such as this one, instead of being only reactive in how we operate. We have more programs on the horizon that we will be instituting in the coming months as a way of not only fighting crime, but also to build community support networks and develop positive rapport.
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