Night Eyes is a program that has been developed by the Medford Township Police Department to increase the level of community policing to the business owners through crime prevention activities. The Night Eyes program was introduced and implemented in May of 1998 in Medford Township. The program is tailored to meet the needs of our business community and the resources of the Police Agency.
The Night Eyes program is a crime prevention program. Admittedly there is no way to make a business impenetrable but there are ways to slow down the average burglar. Although we cannot control the desire in some individuals to commit a crime, we can reduce the opportunities through target hardening and the collection of business information. Through this program and partnership that will be formed between and the Police and Business Community, the quality of life and the level of service provided to all will be increased. The program is divided into 4 phases . . . . . .
Phase One: A Master business List is compiled. Uniformed Patrol Officers visit each business and complete a business Informational Sheet. Contained on the Informational Sheet are questions concerning hours of operation, alarms and emergency contacts. A 9-1-1 telephone test is conducted and the information is verified against the 9-1-1 ALI screen. All information gather during the visit is entered in the Police CAD system.
Phase Two: A business security survey may be requested by the business owner. During the survey a uniformed patrol officer will meet with the business owner and suggest the most practical and cost efficient security measures which could be implemented to “harden the target”.
Phase Three: Night Watch Uniformed Patrol Officers conduct Primary Night Eyes Inspections. Each officer is assigned a specific number of inspections at specific locations each night. For each inspection a two part carbonless document is generated. The officer’s name, date and time of the inspection are included in addition to the incident number. During the inspection, the officers report any and all deficiencies or weaknesses to the security of the property that are observed. The weaknesses that are addressed are unlocked doors, poor lighting conditions, poor visibility, etc. Where an emergent deficiency is observed the emergency contact person for the business is notifies and asked to respond to the location. In all cases, page two of the inspection report is left at the business.
Phase Four: A Uniformed Patrol Officer will conduct a follow-up with the business owner to discuss simple steps which can be taken to reduce the impact of the security weakness that criminals perceive as opportunities.
Medford Township Police
Department/Public Safety Building
91 Union Street, Medford, NJ 08055
Dispatch - (609) 654-7511
Citizen Tip Hotline - (609) 714-0302