YORK COUNTY, Va. — York County is the 13th locality in Virginia to be recognized as a Certified Crime Prevention Community, the York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office announced Thursday. The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice and Services (DCJS) oversees the program.
York-Poquoson Sheriff Ron Montgomery told News 3 the certification formalizes commitments to proactive policing and community engagement. To receive the designation a locality will meet 12 core community safety elements and additional optional elements. The elements include things like implementing gun safety programs, business outreach programs, and using crime prevention specialists.
Montgomery said everyone's put in a lot of work to meet the requirements which were reviewed by DCJS.
"It turned out to be a 105 page document that describes the core elements and gives the proof we're actually doing these things," said Montgomery.
DCJS reports that the designation gives localities a leg up in future grant applications and can help residents if they're seeking reductions from insurance companies since they now live in a certified location.
Montgomery said he's seen positive changes as everyone worked hard to reach the milestone too. Last year, he said, larceny from vehicles dropped 50 percent and identity fraud and scam numbers dropped 20 percent.
"When we had this coalition working together it gave us an opportunity over those months to actually dive deeper into some of their issues and to listen to some of their concerns and that really helps us develop better crime prevention programs to help them all," said Montgomery.
Montgomery thanked everyone involved from deputies to community partners and residents.
He hopes, together everyone will continue building a stronger, safer community.
"Law enforcement can't do it alone. It takes a coordinated effort between the community and law enforcement and the more we can get the community involved, the safer the community will be. And that's really what the bonus of this program is," said Montgomery.
Hampton, Newport News and Williamsburg are also Certified Crime Prevention Communities, according to the DCJS website.
