"We're hoping to duplicate the success of the residential PACT program in the Gateway area," said Denise Brinson, economic and community development director. "This is a great opportunity for businesses to develop relationships with one another as well as with the City."
Suwanee's residential PACT program, established in 2002, is designed to build relationships between citizens and the police department and to resolve quality-of-life issues before they become criminal problems. Neighborhoods meet with their PACT officer three times each year, and officers are always available to "their" residents via phone and e-mail. Last year, more than 1,000 residents attended some 78 PACT meetings.
The same strategies will be applied to the approximately 400 businesses in the Gateway area, with four officers serving as Gateway liaisons. The first Gateway PACT meeting will be 10 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16, at the Courtyard Marriott, 310 Gwinco Boulevard; the meeting is open to all Gateway businesses. Six meetings will be offered each year with participating businesses required to attend three of those meetings.
Through PACT, officers hope to build better relationships with business owners and employees, which, they believe, will result in reduced criminal activity. And when criminal issues do arise, the relationships established through PACT will allow officers and businesses to more effectively resolve those issues. Police will have established avenues for sharing information, alerts, and crime prevention tips.
Said Lt. Dan Clark, one of Suwanee's investigators and a Gateway PACT liaison: "This is a win-win situation for us. By forging these relationships, businesses will come to know us, develop a level of trust, and have a means to share information with us and with one another, which ultimately will help us to be better able to solve and prevent crimes."
http://accesswdun.com/article/2008/8/212815