Carol Barnette, Neighborhood Watch District Leader, accepts an award from ORNWP President Brad Stephenson, left, for the Scarboro community’s outstanding community service in supporting neighborhood crime prevention programs. With them are, from left, Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi, Deputy Chief of Police Alan Massengill, and Community Resource Officer Brandan Sharp, at the Neighborhood Watch annual banquet for block captains.
The Oak Ridge Neighborhood Watch Program invites the community to come learn more about the crime prevention program at a Neighborhood Watch Open House from 6:30-8 p.m. Tuesday, March 18, at the Municipal Courtroom in the Oak Ridge Municipal Building.
Neighborhood Watch encourages residents to watch for and report suspicious activity in their neighborhoods, in partnership with the local police department. The program also encourages neighbors to get to know each other better. By working together to prevent crime, Neighborhood Watch participants contribute to improved safety and quality of life in their communities.
The open house will feature a presentation by David Gordon, crime analyst with the Oak Ridge Police Department, and tours of the newly renovated Oak Ridge Police Department.
Gordon will explain how residents can track crime in their neighborhood through RAIDS Online, www.raidsonline.com, a Web-based crime mapping program. RAIDS Online offers information about local crime activity and trends. It empowers the public, according to Gordon, by giving them the same technology used by law enforcement to analyze and interpret crime patterns in their area. Anyone may subscribe to customized e-mail alerts about crime in their neighborhood.
Officer Brandan Sharp, community resource officer with the Oak Ridge Police Department, will present information on how Neighborhood Watch programs make a difference in the city’s neighborhoods.
Brad Stephenson, a resident of the Melton Lake area and president of the Oak Ridge Neighborhood Watch Program, will also be on hand to discuss the program and how residents can join, along with other officers elected from among Neighborhood Watch District Leaders. Refreshments will be served.
The Oak Ridge Police Department reports that many burglars have been caught and drug dealers stopped because of the vigilance of the citizens of Oak Ridge. Now, there are about 150 streets in Oak Ridge that are active participants in the local Neighborhood Watch Program. The groups are located throughout the city, from Rivers Run in the east to The Preserve at Clinch River in the west, and from Outer Drive in the north to the Scarboro Community in the south.
The Oak Ridge Municipal Building is at 200 S. Tulane Ave.
Leave a Reply