Recently, I attended a Neighborhood Watch meeting for the Fairfield Police Department. I was amazed to see the program that the police started years ago, and recently updated by Chief Rainey. As a long term citizen of Fairfield I wasn’t aware of the depth of commitment by the city and the citizens to reducing crime in Fairfield.
Neighborhood Watch has been active for a number of years in Fairfield, with the advent of the Internet; the program has been updated so that neighborhood team leaders get monthly crime reports for their area. Now they know what’s going on in their community. The block captains also know the other captains and have email amongst them so that they can communicate and coordinate.
There is a Crime Free Multi Unit Housing program that has cleaned up issues in the apartment complexes. This is a three phase program of education and certification of apartment managers to clean up problem areas and improve property values. There are a number of properties in the city that have been certified and others that are working towards certification.
There is also a Quality Neighborhood Team program that is a partnership between the police and the community in problem areas. This program has led to programs such as student education, reading programs and other programs for at risk youth. The police are working with the community and are having an impact.
Chief Rainey and the City Council have set up a Gang Injunction program that will give the Police the ability to help control gang activity. This will force the gang activity out of Fairfield. The Council has also recently passed a law to handle the health and safety issues on abandoned properties; they will be holding the bank, which holds the mortgage responsible for keeping the property in shape and safe.
The Police have set up an Academy where they give citizens a taste of the training that a police candidate faces. This is a nine week course, open to citizens, which allow them to learn about the equipment and policies of the police. The Department also started a junior Academy this year, which has done the same thing for the youth in the community. This is also a starting point for youth who will become cadets with the Department. It also is a way to improve relations between the Department and the youth of the community.
A concern that was voiced in the meeting concerned what happened to those apprehended under these programs. As you read the newspapers about court cases concerning crimes in our community, we see a reticence to prosecute, as well as a failure to convict in a number of cases. If we are putting all this time, effort and tax money in to cutting crime in the community, the judicial and courts system needs to acknowledge public sentiment and actively prosecute these individuals. If we, as citizens, see that this isn’t happening, we need to realize that judges and prosecutors are elected officials, and answer to the voters on a regular basis. We need to keep score and be sure that the right people are in the right places, doing the will of the electorate. Remember we get the justice we deserve.
GOOD LUCK
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