The month of October is recognized as Crime Prevention Month, a month which is particularly focused on how to prevent crime in the community. This month was originally initiated by the National Crime Prevention Council or the NCPC. They help with themes for the month, as well as ways to encourage people to prevent crime and ensure their own safety.
The NCPC, along with their mascot McGruff the Crime Dog, is an organization that focuses on preventing crime and getting communities to participate in ways to keep homes and families safe. They teach people to practice locking doors and turning on lights to keep criminals away. They have a number of programs to get people interacting with crime prevention year round, not just during this one month.
Samantha Escudero, a forensics teacher at Warren Central High School, believes it’s important to contribute to crime prevention because people need a safe place to live and a safe environment for their loved ones. Without a safe place to feel at home or move around one’s environment freely, people can’t be sure that their loved ones are as protected from harm as they hope to be.
“The more that people understand that crime prevention is everyone's responsibility, the stronger the community becomes in maintaining an environment that is safe for our families and ourselves,” Escudero said.
People of the community can contribute to crime prevention by engaging in neighborhood watch programs, staying cautious when they’re out or at home, and being aware of their surroundings. To stay safe, people can set motion lighting in their front and back yards, lock all windows and doors and practice telling someone if you see something illegal in any way.
“The main way I think people can contribute to Crime Prevention Month, and crime prevention in general, is practicing "if you see something, say something," Escudero said. “Non-emergency lines exist for a reason.”
Escudero stated that Crime Prevention Month brings her a sense of responsibility that she has as an individual of her community, as a teacher and as a mother. She is a person who has studied forensics in college, which has led her to see many examples of what can occur when preventing crime is not a priority in communities.
“Crime Prevention does not only include burglaries and homicides,” Escudero said. “It involves home security, and now more than ever, it involves cyber crime. Ensuring we protect ourselves and our families from identity theft and other cyber crimes is vital in the ever advancing age of technology.”
Crime Prevention Month also includes the police officers, who also try to prevent crime. There are police officers placed in neighborhoods, schools, etc… They do their best to make sure people stay safe.
A resource officer at Warren Central, Elizabeth Villalpando, feels like Crime Prevention Month is important, especially to officers in a school building, that they ensure everyone is aware of their surroundings while on their way to school or in the building. She believes everyone should stay prepared.
“I think it’s very important for us as officers to make sure everyone in the school is aware that they need to be safe in their house, when it gets dark and if they drive to school to make sure they lock all their doors, just so they don’t fall victim to crime,” Villalpando said.
To Villapando, this month deserves to be promoted more so that everyone knows to stay aware and that crime is something serious. She says it’s a good way to get everyone to chip in and come together so that every person stays safe.
“We can contribute as a community by taking the necessary precautions to not become victims,” she said.
Another resource officer at Warren, Eric Harris, is glad that this month highlights being aware of crime and that it is something that the whole community should be more mindful of. Harris believes that being cautious and trying to prevent crime should be something that people should be doing throughout the whole year and not just one month.
“I do like that we take the time to recognize that we do need to take our part as a community and as individuals to prevent crime,” Harris said.
Along with Escudero and Villalpando, Harris also believes that everyone plays a part of the community in order to keep each other out of danger. If a person stays silent when they see someone committing a crime or doing something harmful, then that could possibly put everyone in danger.
“It’s not just us officers’ responsibility, but the community,” Harris said. “Your neighbors, the people you go to school with, we all take part in keeping each other safe.”