On Thursday night, the Langley City Crime Prevention Task Group met. One of the initiatives of the task group is to promote both the Block Watch and Business Link crime prevention programs. Earlier this month, City council authorized municipal resources to help promote these programs.
The task group heard from Dianne Robinson and Florence Fowler who are Crime Prevention Coordinators for the Langley detachment of the RCMP. They provided more detailed information on the aforementioned crime prevention programs. Task group members and City staff will be working toward a big push to promote these programs in our community during Crime Prevention Week which takes place between November 1st and 7th.
Committee members will also be working with City staff to promote crime prevention programs through the City’s official social media and advertising channels throughout the year.
Engaging the business community on crime prevention and reduction is also in the works. A new document will be included with City-issued business licenses that will provide information on free services available to businesses included CPTED reviews.
These programs are effective in reducing crime. A research paper call “The Effectiveness of Neighborhood Watch” delves into the effectiveness of Block Watch programs.
Bike theft occurs in Langley City. Recovering stolen bikes can be difficult because there is generally no way to match a bike to its owner. Task group members learned about 529 Garage. This is a program that uses the power of crowdsourcing and the Internet to help recover stolen bikes. This program is available in Langley, and you can signup online. In-person signup events are also being planned throughout the community.
One of the goals of the task group is to send a signal that our community is safe by using the broken windows theory. Litter, tagging, and inappropriately discarded needles send negative signals. The task group passed a motion asking council to consider piloting the installation of needle disposal bins in problem areas, along with a public education component. In other communities, this has proven to be effective in reducing inappropriately discarded needles.
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