Building Relationships with the Community
Over the past two years, as a whole, the communities served by the Perris Station have experienced about 18 percent reduction in Part 1 crimes (homicide, rape, robbery assault, burglary, auto theft, larceny and arson).
As we continue to develop crime prevention strategies to further this decline, management at the station has realized that we have not taken full advantage of our community service officers. In part, and after some review, we found the duties of our crime prevention staff was not clearly defined or coordinated. As the City of Menifee added a community service officer earlier this year, we have taken the time to refocus and coordinate some responsibilities between the crime prevention staff for the unincorporated county areas, city of Perris and city of Menifee as a “force multiplier” of sorts. Moreover, we placed the assignment of this team under the direction of the station’s administrative sergeant.
As I have stated before, we all recognize that it is impossible to have negative crime in our communities (less than zero incidents of crime). However, we can all work together to further reduce opportunities for crime to occur. At the Perris Station, we have taken advantage of monitoring crime trends and deployed officers and resources to those areas that have been identified as “hot spots.” Now, we are looking to further leverage our resources through additional crime prevention strategies (Neighborhood Watch, Business Watch, and volunteer services such as the Perris Citizens Patrol).
Although we have maintained some of these relationships over the years, we are reaffirming our commitment to the community with the restructuring of the crime prevention duties at the Perris Station. Today, we have developed a clear point of contact for the communities interested in joining our one of our volunteer service groups, developing a
Neighborhood Watch group, or seeking general crime prevention information. Inquiries can be made by calling the Perris Station at (951)210-1000. If you live in the unincorporated communities served by the Perris Station (Mead Valley, Gavilan Hills, Lake Mathews, Woodcrest, Romoland and Homeland), you want to ask for Community Service Officer Vanessa Runner; for the city of Menifee, ask for Community Service Officer Nina Navar; and, for the city of Perris, your point of contact is Community Service Officer Gina Montenegro.
If we desire to continue the downward crime trends, we are all responsible for crime prevention in our communities. The Perris Station is dedicated to doing our part, and we encourage you to join us by doing your part.
James P. McElvain
Chief of Police