COMMERCE — In its commitment to fighting crime and serving its citizens, the Commerce Police Department has recently rolled out a new service that is being offered to home owners within the City of Commerce.  A Security Survey Program was recently started to give the citizens a new tool in fighting crime.  It empowers a homeowner with the piece of mind that he or she is doing their part in crime prevention while making their residence a less appealing target for criminals.  

At its core, the program is designed to allow the crime prevention officer to go in and survey a homeowner’s residence.  He can then determine the weaknesses and the strengths of a homeowner’s overall security.  After the survey, the officer returns to meet with the homeowner to go over a detailed report that shows minimum changes needed to overcome some of the weaknesses of the overall security of the home.  The report also shows maximum recommendations which can be implemented as time and money permit.  

We believe that an informed citizen is an empowered citizen.  Knowing the current security state of the residence will allow a resident to take that initiative to change it.  Sometimes in our busy world, we overlook the obvious until it’s too late.  

This is the time of the year that all of us need to be extra alert.  We’ve all seen the news footage where a burglar has entered a residence and not only burglarized it but has ruined Christmas.  In addition to taking items of value, burglars have taken the presents underneath the Christmas tree.  

The Commerce Police Department urges citizens to be on the alert of any suspicious activity within your neighborhood.  That is the first step towards crime prevention.  Keeping burglars and would be thieves off of your streets.  Get to know your neighbors and if you see any suspicious persons or activity around their houses, don’t be afraid to report it.  Chances are if they are looking at their residence today, they may return to yours tomorrow.  

For more information on this program, neighborhood watch or citizens on patrol programs in the City of Commerce, please contact Officer Alex Suarez at (903) 886-1139 or email at asuarez@commercepolice.net.