Contributing to your community continues to be a main factor for volunteering. Volunteering with the National Capital Area Crime Stoppers organization has been a privilege for over six years. Serving as the President and Chair of the Board of Directors is a wonderful opportunity to contribute to a safer community. Of course, volunteering also offers tremendous opportunities to connect with your local community as well as contributing to deserving causes.
Crime Prevention Week across our region was an active time for Crime Stoppers. Our team of volunteers participated at a number of events around the region. These included table top displays, presentations and meetings to help raise awareness and encourage anonymous reporting of crime. Crime prevention is a shared responsibility and we can all play a part in safer communities. The theme of Crime Prevention Week 2017 is “Building Safer Communities Together”. Clearly, government and law enforcement have a significant role in crime prevention. Citizens are also key stakeholders in helping keep our community safe. Reducing your exposure to crime can be as simple as keeping your property secure and reporting suspicious activity to authorities. Knowing your surroundings; sharing your travel plans with friends or family; target hardening your property can reduce the likelihood of becoming a victim of crime. These are all elements that can contribute to safer communities.
Crime Stoppers was recently recognized by Crime Prevention Ottawa with their Longstanding Contributor Award that they presented at a ceremony on November 6, 2017. The City of Ottawa ceremony was also the official launch of Crime Prevention Week in our city. I was honoured to accept the award on behalf of Crime Stoppers. Many of my board colleagues and team members joined me at the ceremony. I continue to be inspired by their dedication and commitment to volunteering. We are fortunate to have many partners that help support our program. Ottawa Police Service have been a partner of Crime Stoppers since 1985 and continue to provide us with two police coordinators. These coordinators are seconded to Crime Stoppers and manage the thousands of tips received each year. They also help promote the program in our community. Ottawa Community Housing, OC Transpo along with all of our local colleges and universities help support and promote Crime Stoppers. Partnerships are key to our engagement with the community. FCi is also proud to be a partner for Crime Stoppers. We are also extremely proud of our security solutions deployed at many public and private facilities that help keep our community safe. We understand that public safety is a shared responsibility.
