Citizen crime-fighters
By ROBERT LINNEHAN
The Cherry Hill Sun
5/22/2009

A public meeting between the township’s community policing unit and various residents last week helped to improve communication between Cherry Hill neighborhoods and the police department.

The community-policing unit met with about 45 members of the public last week to discuss crime-fighting tips and encourage a greater relationship with the township’s different neighborhoods. Cherry Hill Communications Officer John Moyer said the meeting was a success and the attendants seemed to take a good deal away from the event.

The department is hoping to organize several smaller meetings throughout the summer with different neighborhood groups, Moyer said.

A larger, more involved meeting with the entire township will likely take place after the summer as well.

Community policing is all about keeping the public informed and raising awareness about crime prevention, Moyer said. The officer told the audience what the police department looks for when they ask the public to describe a suspicious character and the correct way to identify a motor vehicle.

Those small tips, he said, help the department immensely during an investigation.

"Our goals are certainly to reduce crime and disorder, improve our residents’ quality of life, reduce fear of crime, and improve police and community relationships,” he said. “Just responding to crimes, making arrests, that doesn’t necessarily reduce future crimes. We want to improve relationships within the community and increase safety and crime prevention.”

Meeting with neighborhood watch groups, Moyer said, can be equally as beneficial for the police department. Often citizens call into the department with tips or suspicious behavior that officers may not be aware of, he said.

Moyer said his department provides about 22 neighborhood groups with crime statistics each month and updates them on activity in their areas.

“It opens up the communication between them and us. We give them information to help them prevent possible crime and they help us when they give us reference on what’s going on in their community,” he said. “That’s one of the main things we do. We give people in the community an idea of what exactly is going on in their community. We know that they’re the eyes and ears of the town. Those kinds of things are huge.”

Moyer said the community-policing unit also regularly meets with the business community to keep them informed of illegal activity in their area. For example, he said the unit keeps local banks informed about potential suspicious activity happening in surrounding areas.

The unit also provides them with tips to prevent theft and shoplifting.

The unit’s next event will be National Night Out, a free community gathering on Tuesday, August 4 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Croft Farm.

The national crime and drug prevention night will provide a forum for residents and township police officers to meet and create a dialogue.

“We’d love to see more people get involved,” Moyer said.

To reach the community-policing unit, please call 488-7813.