Beardstown residents will soon have an opportunity to find out how they can have a more active role in helping to keep their community safe.
Crime Stoppers of Morgan, Scott, and Cass Counties will be conducting a presentation at the end of this month to not only help inform the community on what Crime Stoppers is but also how they can help form a Neighborhood Watch group.
The presentation will be held at the high school next Thursday, and Crime Stoppers board member Dawn Seward says she and a couple of other board members who live in Beardstown want to help raise awareness in the community.
“We want people to know what Crime Stoppers really is all about because a lot of people see it on Facebook and on TV and really don’t understand it, and are maybe scared to call. So we would like everybody in the surrounding communities to know what Crime Stoppers is really about.”
Seward says part of the program will include information on how to start a Neighborhood Watch Program, which is something Seward says could be a big help in Beardstown as the city continues to work through a shortage of available police officers to patrol the streets.
“The people in Beardstown are having problems with the police not being able to be there all the time, and we want to get a Neighborhood Watch program so people can be more aware of what’s going on in Beardstown and to feel free to call. We want people to be safe in Beardstown and we want everyone to be invovled.”
The program will be hosted by Morgan, Scott, Cass Crime Stoppers Coordinator Loren Hamilton from Jacksonville, and will include topics such as the how-to’s of starting a neighborhood watch, discussion of Community Concerns and maintaining a successful crime prevention program, as well as home security tips for when the occupants are not at home.
Seward says seeing a similar program is what led her to become a Crime Stoppers board member and she wants to help provide that same information to her community.
“I didn’t know much about Crime Stoppers until I watched Loren [Hamilton] give a presentation and it put an interest in me. Because I want to feel safe in my hometown.
I’ve lived in Beardstown my whole life and I think that when someone is in need or something is in need, Beardstown always comes together as a family and I would like for us all to get together on this thing to make Beardstown safe again.”
The presentation will be held on Thursday, September 29th at the Beardstown High School Auditorium starting at 6:30 p.m.
Anyone with questions can contact Crime Stoppers Board members Dawn Seward at 217-414-6565, Ron Culves at 217-323-5077, or Kembra Bell at 217-248-9131.