Crime Prevention and Community Education

What is Crime Prevention?

It is the anticipation, recognition, and appraisal of a crime risk and the initiation of some action to remove or reduce it. The Burlington Police Department offers several crime prevention programs that help promote and improve safety for community groups and individuals. Officers provide educational resources and programs to assist those interested in learning more about crime prevention. Our goal is to provide educational opportunities for citizens to remove or reduce crime risk. You can visit Crimestoppers for more information on how to report a crime. This Crime Prevention Kit is an excellent resource, and you can visit the National Center for Victims of Crime and the National Crime Prevention Council for additional resources.

Our Tips:

We provide a lot of resources on how individuals and communities can work to prevent crime. You can find information on how to avoid scams, prevent motor vehicle break-ins, how you can help officers find your stolen property, and spot phony, unsafe electronics. We also provide information on child safety topics like how to prevent bullying, child seat laws, online safety, and Halloween safety tips. You can learn about proper firearm safety and storage and railway safety.

You can find out what to do if you are stopped by an officer. Every year we remind the community of proper safety regarding children returning to school and what the laws are for driving with school buses on the road. If you need, please review the city's alarm ordinances for police and fire. You can read about basic active shooter safety tips, and we frequently have officers who can speak on how to respond, contact the department, if you are interested in having an officer speak at your event.

The department has a medicine drop box where people can drop off unused medications. Each year the department participates in Prom Promise to show local high school students the importance of driving safely on prom night. We offer information on how to set up a community watch or request a vacation watch. You can read more about our community involvement and learn how to report crimes.