Hi everyone and welcome to this week's Sheriff's Corner. We started talking about proactive law enforcement last week. I'd like to take this week's column to continue that effort.
Proactive law enforcement, simply put, is where law enforcement does things, in many areas, to try to disrupt, change the norm and do anything to make the criminal not commit his crime. It can be something as simple as driving by a location often enough to make the criminal think it's to dangerous to do the crime, to putting up cameras, hiring guards or placing canines in an area to interfere with the "want to be" criminal.
Here, at the Levy County Sheriff's Office, we employ many different strategies to try to keep crimes from happening. We have crime prevention programs for citizens, youth and businesses that are designed to teach how not to be vulnerable. Our business watch program keeps deputies close to businesses throughout the day. When they come by, they leave a card or notice that they were there. In fact, this program has interrupted several burglaries in progress.
Our School Resource program is focused on teaching our children about the world and how law enforcement plays a part in that world. Strangers, date rape, violence are all programs covered by these dedicated people.
We believe that you our citizens and law enforcement must partner to identify problems and formulate solutions. Our crime prevention program is designed to specifically look at your living situations and then make suggestions to make you less vulnerable or less desirable as a target. Community Oriented Policing is a part of all this.
Lastly, this column is designed to tell you about crime trends, give you bits of intelligence and be there to answer any of your questions. We're here for you. We're not perfect but we work hard to not make a mistake that could hurt you. If you have any questions, give us a call. Take care. | 
