A seminar on starting a Neighborhood Watch program will be held Friday at the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety headquarters on Middleton Street.

DPS Sgt. Aqkwele Polidore will be conducting the seminar at 6:30 p.m. It is open to the public and business owners.

Officials say the Neighborhood Watch program enables law enforcement and the community to work together to make areas more crime resistant. The program is a citizen-involved, community-based effort designed to help residents and police prevent crimes such as burglary.

Labeled various names, such as Crime Watch, Block Watch and Town Watch, the program is most effective, officials say, at preventing crime and reducing fear in an area where the program has been implemented.

Police stress, however, that while the title may be “Neighborhood Watch,” the program can be adapted to nearly any environment, examples of which include dormitory watch, park watch, apartment watch, business watch and so forth. A watch can be organized around just about any geographical unit, Polidore said.

Participants and business leaders are requested to register as soon as possible to reserve a slot.

Contact Polidore at 803-533-4113 for more information or to register for Friday’s seminar at 1320 Middleton Street, the DPS headquarters.

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