Suffolk News-Herald

All this month, the Suffolk Police Department has focused their attention on of National Crime Prevention Awareness Month. To bring awareness to the public, police officers have planned activities for the entire family.

Members of the Suffolk Police Community Improvement and Forensics Unit were on hand at Wal-Mart on North Main Street, Saturday for National Crime Prevention Awareness Month. The officers brought with them a children’s activity table, where children were able to make their own trick or treat bags.

Parents were also involved in the special activities, and they were given valuable information on crime prevention and invited to sign up for a free Home Security Survey.

The surveys will help people crime proof their homes, said Joan Jones, of the Forensic Unit. Joans, a crime scene investigator for Suffolk Police, said she and Amanda Harrison, also of the Forensics Unit, fingerprinted 80 children in the Ident-A-Kid program Saturday.

Some of the children also contributed to DNA kits as requested by their parents.

Jones said anyone who missed out on these valuable free services may take advantage of the next opportunity when the Forensics Unit and the Police Community Improvement Unit move the activity tables to Wal-Mart at 6259 College Drive in northern Suffolk. They will be there from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today

People can also go to www.suffolk.va.us/police to get a form to request a police department speaker. Clubs, civic groups, churches, schools and other groups that would like to have a speaker may submit the form to the Suffolk Police Department at least three weeks prior to the engagement.

The information may be given to a member of the Community Services Section, faxed, mailed or hand delivered to police headquarters.