Supported by Pinecrest Police
Dear Skip,
I am honored that the Police Benevolent Association has endorsed me. Safety must come first, in word and in deed, and our Pinecrest officers live up to that standard every day. Supporting our police has been a Village priority since Incorporation. And, of course, creating our own police department was a major reason to incorporate in the first place.
Three points on public safety I would like to bring you up to speed on:
Our policing model
The strategies we employ to prevent crime
The fact that our police are well staffed and have been supported by Council
#1: Our Policing Model
Pinecrest follows a Community Based Policing Model (CBP). CBP is an approach that focuses on building partnerships with community members to proactively address crime prevention. When I was a young professional at the United States Department of Justice, I worked in a division that trained police departments in CBP concepts. Our police department is a model of CBP, and from my personal and professional experience, I can say it is world-class. Our police take the model to heart. They actively engage in community efforts that create partnership between police and the community - from hosting barbecues, forming crime watch chapters, participating at local school and sports events, or dressing up as superheroes to bring joy to kids while fostering positive relationships with law enforcement and more.
#2: The Strategies We Employ to Prevent Crime
We can all take pride in encouraging news about safety in Pinecrest: To date, crime is trending 26% lower than last year, and 60% lower than it was at incorporation.
This achievement is the result of several key factors:
The Helm: To our newer Residents, our Pinecrest Police Chief is Jason Cohen. Chief Cohen grew up near Pinecrest and is a Gulliver graduate. Chief Cohen is our first chief to have come up within the Department’s ranks.
License Plate Readers: Pinecrest has 16 active License Plate Readers (LPRs) within the Village. Over the next six months, we are adding 24. LPRs are cameras that take a snapshot of every car that passes them. When the new LPRs are installed, we will also have LPRs around every school in Pinecrest.
These LPRs help officers track down criminal offenders. Often witnesses to a crime will provide our police with the tag or sometimes a general vehicle description. Our police are able to review LPRs for the specific tag or pull the tag of similar vehicles that came through an area. LPRs also run tag numbers through a national hotlist for vehicle tags that are flagged – e.g. stolen, outstanding warrant. In those cases, police dispatch is notified and an officer is deployed immediately.
Home Security Systems: These increasingly available and affordable systems help our police solve crimes. Residents sharing video with our police is one more example of partnership to solve and prevent crime.
Fully Staffed Patrol Zones: There are 5 patrol zones in Pinecrest. There is one officer assigned to every patrol zone 100% of the time - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Always. In fact, on some days there may be more than one officer in a zone, but at a minimum, we have one officer assigned to each zone. Residents may not always see the officer in the zone because some patrol cars are unmarked. This is, of course, useful if the police are staking out an area and can navigate the zone incognito.
Force Multipliers: Why do we see sometimes see decoy cars parked with no officer inside? Decoy cars are simply patrol cars that are not in use. They may not be operational for any given reason. Rather than have these cars parked at the station, the Pinecrest Police deploys them to serve as a deterrent. They are force multipliers. These are particularly helpful in commercial areas. Would-be wrongdoers don’t know if the officer is around, or if the car is a decoy. This is strategic and deliberate.
What can we do to control traffic for neighborhoods surrounding our schools? Clearly, we need to get children to school. And there is increased traffic at drop off and pick up around our schools. While our Pinecrest population has not increased, the population south of Pinecrest has, and there are simply more cars on the road. Our police deploys officers to schools to help guide the traffic and enhance safety.
#3: Our Police Are Well Staffed and Supported By Council.
Throughout the country, police departments are facing difficulty with officer recruitment and retention. Not in Pinecrest.
Our officers put themselves on the line for us, and so we have increased funding for our police. We make sure that salaries and benefits are highly competitive so that we can recruit and retain talent. We have provided officers with the option of take-home squad cars, a benefit trending around the state and country. We have worked closely with the Pinecrest police, listened to their needs, and provided them the training and support for them to conduct themselves like the outstanding professionals they are.
And it has worked!
We have 51 sworn officers across all ranks, supported by a broader flank of civilian support. We are in the process of interviewing and hiring one more officer. Chief Cohen anticipates we will have this officer on board by year’s end and then our department will be fully staffed.
Supporting our officers is the right thing to do given what our officers do for us, and it allows for enhanced public safety and a more effective Community Based Policing model when we are loyal to the officers who have been loyal to our Community.
What can residents do to support our Police?
It’s not just Council; each of us has the chance to do our part. One of our stronger partnerships is through Neighborhood Crime Watch. We have 37 active crime watch chapters in our Village.
If you are not part of your crime watch, or if you don’t have one in your area, please let me know and I will help get one set up for you.
In Closing
Any crime above 0 is too much crime. My husband and I raised our 3 kids in Pinecrest. Our home is here. We take this seriously. Our police deserve our partnership, our respect, our support, our team work, our community input on problem-solving, and, of course, our funding.
In my first term in Council, I was proud to provide our police support, and am grateful for the Police Benevolent Association endorsement as an indicator of my commitment to public safety. Let’s continue this work! And let’s continue to do our part as a Community to support the Pinecrest Police.
Committed to Our Community,
Vice Mayor Shannon del Prado
