Crime Free Team

The Crime Free team, which consists of four full time officers when fully staffed, enables the unit to make an immediate impact within concentrated areas and lay the groundwork for long-term crime prevention solutions. Utilizing data analysis, citizen interviews, and police officer input, the Crime Free team develops customized action plans for each project. These projects are typically defined either geographically or by crime category. In addition to making impacts with local businesses the Crime Free Team also hosts or participate in numerous community events. These events include National Night Out, neighborhood block parties, and the Citizens Police Academy. 

Mission

The Crime Free teams focuses their efforts on Crime Free Multi-Housing and Crime Free Business Programs. The Crime Free Multi-Housing program is aimed crime reduction in apartment complexes through environmental design, improving management awareness and tenant screening processes, and more stringent eviction policies. The program also engages the tenants in helping to make their complexes safer. The CFMH Program has more than 20 apartment complexes or multiple housing units in various stages of the program.

The principles of Crime Free Business are similar to that of CFMH but with an eye toward making Joplin businesses safer for customers as well as employees. This is done by encouraging businesses to make safer choices in environmental design and placing an emphasis on training employees in situational awareness and observation. Crime Free Officers have held numerous training sessions for both of these exceptional programs throughout the years. 

View the Crime Free Multi-Housing brochure.

View the Crime Free Business brochure.

Resources

The Crime Free team additionally assisted with neighborhood revitalization areas, patrolled city parks (particularly seeking out alcohol violations, graffiti presence and vandalism), performed site surveys and made security recommendations to city departments and property owners as problems arose, monitored trail safety, and addressed city-wide graffiti abatement.

In 2022 the Crime Free Team was tasked with training non-police employees of the City of Joplin in Workplace Violence and Crime Prevention through Environmental Design. Additionally, this team conducted site surveys on all City operated buildings to enhance security measures.