Traditionally, crime prevention has been the responsibility of the police, tracing its origins to England where most common law originated. What police have known for years is that the actual responsibility of preventing crime rests with the individual and the community. In today’s society it is more important than even for the community to assume its responsibility for the prevention of crime.

The primary of the Crime Prevention program is to reduce the incidence of crime by increasing the awareness of citizens by developing a network within the community in which neighbors assist by being the "eyes and ears" of the police, by encouraging cooperation with the police in reporting crime, as well as by educating residents as to how they can better protect themselves and their properties.

The West Hempfield Township Police Department stands ready to assist individuals and neighborhood groups in implementing formal "Neighborhood Watch" and "Operation ID" programs, as well as with advice on how to protect the individual and their property. For more information about Crime Prevention, Neighborhood Watch, or Operation ID, please call Officer Bart Hollis, at 285-5191.