The Naperville Police Department strongly believes that collaborating with the community to identify and solve problems makes our city a safe place to live, work and conduct business. We have found that outreach and education with both children and adults are key components to building strong relationships and have played a big part in Naperville being recognized repeatedly as one of the country’s safest places to live.
October is Crime Prevention Month, so it is fitting to highlight the Crime Prevention Unit’s proactive programs that help to promote safety in our neighborhoods and prevent crime through education for this month’s “A Safer Naper.”
Members of our Crime Prevention Unit conduct many community presentations and perform outreach regularly to highlight different ways to be safe and avoid being a victim of crime. They cover topics such as burglary prevention, scams, critical incident response, personal safety, and financial exploitation while also touting public safety campaigns such as the 9PM Routine, Lock It or Lose It, Crime Stoppers, Paws on Patrol, Internet Safe Sale Zone, Public Safety Incident Map, Fastrack and Caring Hands.
The Public Safety Incident Map, for example, is an online map we launched in 2017 to enhance community awareness of public safety activity within the City of Naperville. This interactive map allows users to customize a time frame, location and type of incident and serves as a great resource for residents to understand the types of incidents that are occurring throughout the City so they can be proactive and make themselves a tougher target.
The unit also facilitates school safety programs that teach Naperville’s third through sixth grade students different ways to be safe. This includes instruction on personal safety, calling 9-1-1, internet safety and home alone safety. There are also age-appropriate discussions on making yourself a tougher target to avoid being a victim of criminal behavior and recognizing situational awareness.
To learn more about all of the programs mentioned here and other programs available through our Crime Prevention Unit, visit www.naperville.il.us/ASaferNaper.
