The police need help to preserve safety and peace for Lemoore citizens

Any law enforcement agency will never see its full potential without the trust and confidence of the community. The community must trust its law enforcement agency and have confidence   in its members. The Lemoore Police Department is no different and for many years has worked tirelessly to build and maintain the trust and confidence from its citizens.

Over the many years that I have been with the Lemoore Police Department I have seen some great successes when, as a law enforcement agency, the police are able to work together with our community in addressing crime and public nuisances that deteriorate our quality of life. In this article I am going to talk about one of the most basic concepts of police and community partnerships - being a good witness to assist our department.

The Lemoore Police Department relies upon citizens to become involved when they see crime or acts of disorder. We have many investigative tools at our disposal, but the greatest tool we have are witnesses or people who can provide investigative leads or tell us exactly what happened and who did it. We rely upon physical evidence such as fingerprints, DNA, and other hard tangible evidence but nothing beats a citizen who can say "that is the person right there who burglarized my neighbor's house and carried away their big screen television." Witnesses are of great value but I also understand that it is sometimes difficult to be a good witness or get involved when you see something happening. I first want to talk about the things that will make you a good witness and assist the police department in our crime partnership.

The most important thing you can do as a witness is to not get involved in trying to stop a crime if the circumstances of that crime's activity will place you in danger. You never want to add to the crime being committed by becoming a victim yourself, and you definitely do not want to put your family or children in harm’s way. The best thing you can do is be a good witness - and that means you staying safe to be able to provide valuable information to officers arriving at the scene.

When you call the police department, whether on a non-emergency number or on 9-1-1, the dispatcher is going to ask several questions to determine what has happened or is happening. He or she is going to ask questions that relate to the safety of officers responding and if paramedics or EMT's are needed. Please be patient and stay on the line to provide as much information as possible. To prepare yourself for some of these questions, and to be a good witness, try to get a good look at the person who is committing the crime. If possible look at his or her face so that you can later identify the suspect if needed. Look at the clothing a suspect is wearing. Be prepared to describe the color of the clothing, the material that the clothing is made of, and any oddities in the clothing that make it unique. Look at how tall the person is and how much he or she weighs as well as the build. Is the suspect muscular, skinny, or just an average build? Look for tattoos, scars, or anything else on the body that is different or unique.

If there is a vehicle involved in the crime you are witnessing try to remember the make and model of the vehicle as well as its color. Again try to remember anything unique about the vehicle such as dents, bumper stickers, rims, tires or anything else that make the vehicle stand out or is different than other vehicles of the same make and model. If you are able to see and remember the license plate or any part of it please write it down so you don't forget it. Photos and video on your cell phone or other devices are great evidence if you can safely get them. If you see weapons make sure you let the dispatcher know as soon as possible. The dispatcher is going to ask a lot of these questions as will the officer who responds to the scene but when weapons are seen it is important to get that information out to responding officers as soon as possible.

There are so many questions that can be asked based upon the type of crime being committed that it would be impossible to list everything in this article. This is some of the basic information needed in order to be a good witness and my hope is that by reading this article it will give the reader a better understanding of the things to try to remember when reporting a crime. I again want to remind everyone that your safety is important so please be a good witness and not a victim by placing yourself in harm’s way.

The Lemoore Police Department is committed to maintaining a partnership with our community. This partnership is essential and we look forward to building upon it each and every day. Becoming involved in your community and working with the police department in various ways, including those outlined above, to maintain the quality of life that we all enjoy and deserve is priceless.

Anyone having questions about this article or anything else involving the police department or the community should contact me at the Lemoore Police Department. You can also visit the Lemoore Police Department Face book Page to see what is going on in your community and with your police department.  

Jim.chaney@lemoorepd.com  Dispatch 924-5333

Voice Mail       925-6857            Office            924-9574         Sergeant James Chaney