Residents participated in an evening of live demonstrations, giveaways and tours at Gainesville Police headquarters Wednesday as a part of Celebrate Safe Communities.
The event was hosted by GPD in an effort to raise awareness for personal safety and crime reduction in the community.
“This is a chance for the community to come in and meet all the officers, see all the different resources and see some of the canines,” said GPD spokesman Officer Ben Tobias.
Celebrate Safe Communities is an example of GPD’s “community-oriented policing model,” Tobias said, with local officers often working with residents to build trust between the department and the community.
Residents were able to walk around at the event and gather information from various organizations like Crime Prevention Security Systems, the Forensic Crime Unit and the Advanced Law Enforcement Rifle Team — all of which partner with GPD.
Every year, the department aims to bridge the gap between residents and officers, Tobias said.
Ericka Jackson, police crime analyst for the City of Gainesville, said when citizens, communities and law enforcement come together, “it helps better address crime and make the city a safer place to live.”
This is the second year GPD has hosted the Celebrate Safe Communities event.
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 10/16/2014]
Gainesville Police School Resource Officer and K-9 Handler Mike Denmark meets 1-year-old Brody Joyce at the Gainesville Police Department on Wednesday during the Celebrate Safe Communities event.
