Successful Practices & Strategies Vol. 1 | No. 12

Springfield Police Department

Springfield, Missouri

www.springfieldmo.gov/spd

Community policing element

Community partnerships

Problem/issue

Quality of life

Problem description

Criminal activity concentrated around neighborhoods and businesses.

Community policing strategies implemented

The Springfield Police Department’s (SPD) Crime Prevention Unit began looking at the possibility of 

expanding the concepts of neighborhood watch to area businesses. The end result was a program, titled 

Business Watch, which focused specifically on business-related criminal activity issues. 

Almost immediately after the Business Watch program was developed, the Crime Prevention Unit 

contacted Springfield’s City Utilities (CU) to see if it would be interested in receiving the Business Watch 

training, which was also known as “The Watch.” The Crime Prevention Unit wanted the opportunity to 

partner with CU in an effort to train CU’s employees to be able to better identify criminal activity and 

urge them to report that activity if and when they observed it in the field. CU accepted the training 

offer, and Crime Prevention Officer David Snider developed an interactive, in-service training program 

for the employees. 

The in-service training included the basics of reporting crime and how that information could be used to 

deter criminal activity and solve many different crimes. Emphasis was placed on the fact that utility 

workers often times had an advantage of seeing criminal activity as it unfolded. The presentation 

included the following information:

• CU employees had the ability to provide law enforcement with additional “eyes and ears” in

the field.

• CU employees working in the field are in places that can be advantageous and often times

inaccessible to police officers.

• CU field employees often times work in utility vehicles and can see from elevated vantage

points.
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• CU field employees are often times on foot in neighborhoods while they are performing repairs,

conducting maintenance, and taking meter readings.

• CU field employees often times see and hear things as they are happening.

Other parts of The Watch included segments on how to identify suspicious activity, people, and vehicles. 

The program covered how to report the activity and why relaying the information to the police is 

important. It also conveyed the importance of being a good witness and testifying in court should that 

need arise.

The in-service training was provided to 501 CU employees (including CU administrators), with 24 

different sessions, from April through September 2012. As a result of this partnership, a unique decal is 

being created and integrated for display on CU field vehicles. The display of this decal will show a 

professional, working relationship between the SPD and CU. 

Change and/or impact as a result of these community policing efforts

The following are the changes/impacts this community policing effort has had or has the propensity to 

have and who has or could benefit from it:

Preventing/identifying criminal activity - The Watch program has increased the ability for criminal 

behavior to be prevented and/or identified because there are 501 extra sets of eyes and ears in the field 

to assist in those activities. The citizenry, the involved CU workers, and ultimately the SPD have or could 

possibly benefit from this enhancement. 

Reporting of criminal activity – With trained CU workers in the field, The Watch program has increased 

the possibility that criminal activity will be reported to the SPD. This type of activity would benefit the 

citizenry, the CU worker if the crimes are occurring on/against CU property, and the SPD if the 

information is successfully used to solve the crime in question. 

Strengthening the relationship between the SPD and CU – Community engagement is a vital aspect of 

any crime prevention program, and The Watch has strengthened the relationship between the SPD and 

CU. Also, CU workers feel more confident in their abilities to identify and report criminal activity to the 

SPD. Because of this, the benefit to both entities and the citizenry in general can’t be quantified.

Lessons learned through program implementation

When the Crime Prevention Unit first looked into revitalizing the SPD’s neighborhood watch program, 

the Crime Prevention Unit realized that the program simply overlooked the need to partner with area 

businesses in the above-described manner. By expanding the concepts found in the neighborhood 

watch program to businesses, it allowed for a much more complete program. 
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The Business Watch program has allowed the SPD to truly engage the community it serves and develop 

meaningful relationships with area businesses, to include CU. This type of relationship and training 

program will no doubt assist the SPD in combating criminal behavior in the future.

The opinions contained herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the 

U.S. Department of Justice. References to specific agencies, companies, products, or services should not be considered an 

endorsement by the author(s) or the U.S. Department of Justice. Rather, the references are illustrations to supplement 

discussion of the issues. 

The Internet references cited in this document were valid as of the date of publication. Given that URLs and websites are in

constant flux, neither the author(s) nor the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services can vouch for their current validity. 

Published 2014