 Hermiston’s Citizens, Businesses and Hermiston Police Department Working Together to Fight Crime in our Neighborhoods With the city of Hermiston growing and expanding every year, Hermiston citizens and businesses are partnering with their Hermiston Police Department to fight crime and make their city welcoming to visitors and new residents. Working together, many community/ police programs are thriving and keeping crime down.The city of Hermiston has grown significantly in the last nine years from a little over 10,000 to over 16,000 in 2008 but that has only helped keep citizens and businesses on their toes. Hermiston has reacted and taken a pro-active approach to maintaining a clean and safe community by working with each other, area businesses and their police department. The Hermiston Police Department offers several programs and services to their citizens to better equip them on a daily basis to preventing crime in their neighborhoods; from groups like Neighborhood Watch and Business Watch, to Directed Patrol and the Incident Card Program.The Neighborhood Watch groups in the city of Hermiston are over 50 in number, an impressive amount for any city or municipality. Neighborhood Watch encourages neighbors to get to know each other and look out for each other. The Hermiston Business Watch network has well over one hundred businesses in our city and surrounding areas, participating in sharing information and keep each other apprised of new trends in crime prevention and ideas on strengthening our commitment to making Hermiston the best it can be. Can you name ten programs that the Hermiston Police department and the City of Hermiston have available? Are you ready? Here are a few: School Resource Officers, Crime Prevention education, Police Reserve Program, Police Ride-Along Program, the Hermiston Community Accountability Board, Police Oriented Projects, Directed Patrol, Incident Card Program, “Lock, Take, Hide” Campaign (signs are available, see picture, contact Officer Sandoval), CrimeReports.com participation, Security Surveys, Reduce Youth Access to Alcohol participation and the upcoming Citizen’s Academy.The programs all have their unique qualities and goals. Our School Resource Officers are available on scene at the schools to address issues that occur in and around the school. The Hermiston Police Department’s Crime Prevention Program provided education and information to individuals and groups on stopping the crime before it starts, as well as providing security surveys for residents and businesses. Hermiston has available to its citizens information through monthly Crime Prevention bulletins and access to CrimeReports.com, a website that allows citizens to see where criminal activity is occurring. There is participation in campaigns and service announcements to inform the city with crime prevention tips and safer driving. Any combination of the programs available and citizen participation has proven that we are making a difference. Information gathered in a recent performance measures report shows that felony reports are down 23.6% from 2007 to 2008, misdemeanor reports down 10.4%, and overall arrests are up, as well. Officer Initiated activity such as traffic stops, business checks, suspicious vehicle checks, and field interviews have increased by 77%. What does that all mean? It means that Hermiston citizens and their police department are serious about fighting crime! It means that we are working together as partners to let criminals know that they are not going to get away with their activities in our city. They are using programs like Neighborhood Watch and Business Watch to share information and keep each other informed. They are educating themselves with crime prevention information and putting that information in motion to not fall victim. They are supporting each other and participating in programs to take a pro-active approach to safety and traffic enforcement. Hermiston citizens, the City Administrators, and their Hermiston Police are making a difference in our community. |
