There are several resources available to members of the Independence Neighborhood Watch Program. To better serve you, the following information is here to help you discover the tools available to you.

The police department offers many tools to help you in maintaining your Neighborhood Watch Program. Among the more popular are the monthly captain meeting, CrimeReports.com, Meet an Officer, guest speakers and this Web site.

Monthly Captain Meetings
Each month, the police department hosts a captain meeting the First Tuesday of the month (except August). In this meeting you receive all of the information that is critical to report back to your individual groups. Each meeting will have a presenter, or present on a topic related to crime prevention education. These topics range from personal safety, to when to call 911.

You will also be kept informed of what happenings are going on in your city. These meetings are required if your neighborhood wants to receive blockwatch signs. They are also required to qualify for many of the awards which are handed out at our yearly January meeting.

These meetings typically last about an hour. After each meeting there is an optional question and answer session in which you can receive clarification on a topic.

The meetings are held at Truman High School Lecture Hall in room 240. The meetings start promptly at 7 p.m. Any questions regarding these meetings can be addressed to Officer Romey at 325-7643.

Meet an Officer
Since taking over as the Chief of Police, Chief Tom Dailey has implemented a new program to help get officers back into the community. It is the belief of the Independence Police Department that community-based policing efforts start with police officers who are familiar with the communities in which they serve. To that end, by submitting a simple request, you can have your district officer respond to your block party, or block meeting, to open the communication pathway between the citizens and the police department.

When scheduling an officer, keep in mind that they are subject to call. In the event of a mass number of calls, they may not be able to respond to your event. To help guarantee that an officer will respond, please try to meet the following criteria:

1. Avoid scheduling an officer between 5:30 and 7:30 PM. Although this is prime meeting time, this is also when the police shift change-over occurs. In addition to change-over, this is also a very high-volume call time. If your event falls in this time frame, we will still try to make it, but could be called away.
2. Give an accurate address for your event. When making your request, make sure that the address is correct, and that any contact information is correct as well.
3. Prioritize the officer's time. If you are conducting business during a meeting, please pause to give the floor to the officer when they arrive. Keep in mind this officer is keeping your streets safe!

To request an officer for your event, please contact rromey@indepmo.org.

Guest Speakers
Several groups have contacted the police department in reference to common problems: group meetings and content. Many groups have cited this as a leading reason why groups die out.

Below are a few individuals who would be interested in coming out to your individual block meetings to give your group advice, access to new products, or information on crime trends and practices.

In each case, they could make for an excellent draw to increase attendance at your next meeting. In some case, it can also help if you contact other area groups and have a combined meeting. Three groups having a combined meeting would count as an individual meeting for each group involved with the meeting.

If you have an individual or company that would be interested in making this list, please let us know. The police department would love to keep an updated list on file to provide to anyone needing it.

As of now, the following people have made themselves available reference this program:

• Tracey Hawkins: Tracey is with "Safety and Security Source." Her company sells personal safety products. Tracey also will provide personal safety "training." This would be a great topic, especially if you are having a combined meeting. Tracey can be reached at 816-372-0939, her e-mail is traceyhawkins@safetyandsecuritysource.com her web address is http://www.safetyandsecuritysource.com/.
  
  
• Kevin Dill: Kevin is with My Contact 411. My Contact 411 is a service in which your house, property, pets and other items can be entered into a database, and monitored by his service. In the event of an emergency, a police department can use the contact number to contact you by a provided phone number. This would be a great service, especially if you travel a lot, or can be difficult to reach. Kevin can be contacted at 816-347-9799, or kdill@mycontact411.com. Kevin also has a website, check out http://www.mycontact411.com/.
  
  
• Diane Kyser: Diane is with the Community Mediation Center located in Independence. Diane was our guest speaker for the June Meeting. Diane's group focuses on solving problems in which police can not always help. The mediation center can be contacted at indep_cmc@yahoo.com. Their web address is http://www.mediatemissouri.org/.
  
  
• Greg's Locks: Located just off the Independence Square, Greg's has been providing home security options for many years. They have been very helpful to the Neighborhood Watch Program, and have provided door prizes for the June meeting. Greg's will be able to come to your neighborhood to give pointers on keeping your neighborhood safe. They can be reached at 816-836-3639.