Crime Prevention

The College Place Police, in an effort to prevent and reduce crime in the community, employs an on-going crime prevention program. Officer Steve Harris of the department is the person who spearheads this effort. He can be reached at (509) 525-7773 or (509) 525-7778 or by the e-mail: sharris@ci.college-place.wa.us.

The program consists of a number of different facets, but the core of the program involves seeking interested community members to be the department’s eyes and ears through the following activities: Block Watch, Homeland Security Surveys & Subscribing to the “Broken Window Theory”. Definitions are listed below:

Block Watch:

This involves neighbors watching out for neighbors. To start a block watch program one only needs to contact Officer Steve Harris or another department member and offer to host a meeting in his/her home.

The department would like to have a minimum of sixty per cent of the home owners living within a block or 2 block area of the host’s residence demonstrate their interest through their attendance at the meeting. Officer Harris will present information on on-going crime trends in the community, how to minimize the chance of becoming a victim of a theft, burglary, or assault, how to recognize suspicious activity, how working in concert will keep criminal activity to a minimum, and how to start and maintain a block watch program.

Home Security Surveys:

Should you have concerns about the security of your home, or should you desire to enhance the security of your residence & surrounding buildings associated with your property, the police department encourages you to contact Officer Harris and request what is referred to as a “Home Security Survey.” Officer Harris will set up an appointment with you to come to your home, examine your doors, windows, and other points of vulnerability and provide suggestions on how to “harden the target” or, in other words, make it more difficult for an unwanted person to surreptitiously enter your house.

You are under no obligation to implement the recommendations Officer Harris or another police officer suggests, but you will at a minimum have the information should you choose to act on it at a later time.

Broken Window Theory:

The “Broken Window Theory” which is in fact a reality, simply implies the existence of adverse conditions which are allowed to occur, fester, and continue to get worse. This concept certainly can be applied to criminal activity in the areas of a community which are allowed to run down.

Example: The resident(s) of a particular area of the city allow garbage to
accumulate, junked, unlicensed vehicles, or vehicles rarely or never operated to remain on the street or private property, damage to homes or property, which is allowed to remain in an unrepaired condition (e.g. broken windows, doors off of hinges), general deterioration of buildings, graffiti to remain on buildings and retaining walls, weeds and grass to grow unchecked, and the accumulation of a plethora of debris.

A part of crime prevention is dealing with unsightly areas through the College Place Nuisance Abatement Code (C.P.M.C. Chapter 8.24). Residents responsible for these areas are asked to clean up their property. Property which is allowed to run down often attracts the criminal element because an unwitting message is sent that nobody cares about what occurs there.

Other Responsibilities of the Crime Prevention Officer:

1) Contacting and tracking individuals on parole and or probation who have moved into the College Place community.
2) Contacting and tracking those sex offenders classified as level II or level III types. Level III type sex offenders are often considered predatory in nature, which implies an extreme likelihood to re-offend.
3) Tracking crime trends and implementing strategies to deal with specific problems of an on-going nature.
4) Employing pro-active techniques to prevent or stop the proliferation of crime.

Monthly Crime Prevention Tips:

March 2010

April 2010