Community Relations Officer (CRO) Heather Glowacz completed Crime Prevention Through Environmental
Design training this Fall. Known as CPTED (pronounced ‘sep-ted’) by police agencies internationally, the organization is a multi-disciplinary approach to crime prevention that uses urban and architectural design. Strategies aim to reduce victimization, deter offender decisions that precede criminal acts, and build a sense of community to reduce crime and fear of crimes.
The accredited course is standard training for CROs in Bloomfield Township. “We believe every single resident in the Township deserves the right to feel safe, especially in their place of worship. No matter
your beliefs, religion, or creed – we take an oath to protect and serve all people,” says Officer Glowacz. There are over a dozen places of worship in the community representing multiple faith communities. CPTED training helps officers to look for a multitude of safety concerns.
“We will gladly assess any place of worship and make safety recommendations,” says Glowacz. “These could be as minute a detail as a rusty door hinge to something more in depth like alarm system sensor
placement.” Ongoing training is essential to keep safety standards at the highest possible level.
“We train frequently for what I refer to as ‘low frequency, high risk’ situations,” says Bloomfield Township Police Chief James Gallagher. “We hope tragedies we see in the national news never come to our doorstep, but we absolutely have to prepare to handle situations like an active assailant. Training
that evaluates what went right and wrong in well known events is very beneficial for our officers.”
BTPD has a relationship with all places of worship in their jurisdiction and works regularly to promote and ensure safety.