By Linnea Lundgren | [email protected]

For a city of its size, Draper is a relatively low-crime community. However, crime does happen, typically in what the Draper police call “crimes of opportunity” — stealing a purse from a car, removing bicycles from open garages and even entering people’s homes while they’re out in the backyard.

 With approximately 40 officers to 45,000 residents, the Draper police work diligently fighting crime, but can’t be everywhere at once. That is why the Draper Police Department encourages residents to get involved and is promoting the Neighborhood Watch program at a free informational event Friday, June 17, from 7–8 p.m. at the LDS Stake Center outdoor pavilion, 13400 South and 1300 East. All are welcome, but no pets, please.

 The Neighborhood Watch event will also provide a chance for the Draper police to show off the skills of their new K9 police teams. The K9 teams will offer police-dog demonstrations on suspect apprehension and a narcotics search.

 Along with the demonstration, there will be booths with information on Draper’s Neighborhood Watch program, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and Communities that Care, a substance abuse prevention program.

 The Neighborhood Watch program promotes the idea that residents are the eyes and ears of the community. Commitment to residents is minimal: all that is needed is awareness and a willingness to report suspicious circumstances.

 That might entail notifying a neighbor if their garage door is open at night, locking the front door when in the backyard and reporting suspicious vehicles moving through the neighborhood with no apparent destination or without lights.

 Neighbors can form a watch program with assistance from the Draper police and learn about the newest crime-fighting app called ICE BlackBox. The smartphone app makes it easy for residents to document and report suspicious circumstances with just a touch on their screen. New neighborhood signs reading “Neighborhood Watch Now: All Phones Armed with Mobile Video Surveillance” can be installed in the neighborhood, too.

 For more information on the event, contact Natalie Thorell, crime prevention specialist at the Draper City Police Department, 801-576-6342.    λ