Pitching in to Community Policing
In urban shopping districts around the country, police and other local officials are coming to the aid of merchants with more effective security measures aimed at bringing more people downtown. Retailers, in turn, are supporting these efforts through donations and grants for equipment, software and staffing.
While many retailers show their support by working through civic associations, one national retailer has taken the lead in making large grants to research and fund surveillance programs, police/private security partnerships and communication systems that enhance interaction among police, merchants and local residents.
Target has a long history of working with law enforcement agencies at both the national and local levels (it is the only coast-to-coast sponsor of the National Night Out, for example). The company provided about $100,000 to get the ball rolling on a plan by the Tucson Police Department to install surveillance cameras in the downtown area, and has assisted law enforcement in Boston on more than one occasion.
In June 2007, the retailer contributed gift cards to be used as an incentive during a city-run gun buyback campaign. Target followed that with a grant that helped launch a police-run electronic crime alert system that provides e-mails, text messages and faxes to merchants and residents in Dorchester, South Boston and Roxbury — all in the vicinity of South Bay Shopping Center, where Target operates a store.
Residents and shopkeepers in these areas, usually working through crime watch groups and civic associations, register to receive information on crimes that have been committed and descriptions of suspects or other persons of interest.
Target’s involvement in the Safe City program was designed by the retailer’s asset protection team to promote discussion and the sharing of information among public officials, law enforcement, and businesses and other private-sector organizations. In addition to Boston and Tucson, Target’s Safe City funds have been used in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, Orlando and its home market of Minneapolis.
Safe City funds were used to install police surveillance cameras in Flint Township, Mich., a little more than a year ago. After the first 18 cameras were in place, associates from the local Target store erected 50 signs notifying the public that the area was under surveillance.
A second phase of the initiative involved the launch of an interactive website operated by the township police. The system is used to provide businesses, residents and institutions with crime advisories and alerts, and is available free of charge to anyone who requests it. Typically, the alerts include such things as a missing child or shoplifters operating in the area, with pictures and descriptions of the individuals and suspects.
The FBI has taken note of Target’s efforts in working with local law enforcement agencies. In 2007, Target was presented with the FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award for “extraordinary contributions to communities and law enforcement throughout the United States.” In presenting the award, FBI Director Robert Mueller cited Target for its “long-standing commitment to the communities it serves” that includes “support, collaboration and partnership with law enforcement.”
Target’s efforts include sponsoring training and seminars for organizations such as the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP); Women in Federal Law Enforcement (WIFLE), and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBEL). In addition to its work with National Night Out, Target works to combat cargo theft by providing police agencies with semi-trailers equipped with surveillance and tracking capabilities for use in sting operations.
Fighting ORC, e-fencing
Target’s asset protection intelligence team works with other retailers, government agencies and law enforcement in fighting both organized retail crime and e-fencing. It works with the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement as a member of the Customs Partnership Against Terrorism (C-PAT) and its efforts have been re-validated at Tier 3, the highest level of security, through 2009.
Through another program called Spotlight on Crime, Target served a prominent role in creating a pool of reward money used to assist law enforcement agencies solve violent crimes in Minnesota. Since its inception six years ago, Spotlight on Crime has offered more than $1 million in rewards for 19 cases. At least five cases have been solved or suspects have been identified and charged.
In the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, Target launched or participated in a number of initiatives to the benefit of retailers, shoppers and the communities in general. FBI Director Mueller noted that Target partnered with the FBI in a manner that “has redefined public/private collaboration.”
