FSPD works with business community to promote safety

Saturday, August 1, 2009

FORT SCOTT, Kan. -- An upcoming local seminar is designed to help area business owners and managers feel a little more comfortable.

The Fort Scott Police Department, in conjunction with the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce, will conduct an educational safety seminar later this month that will give attendees a chance to learn about ways to make their businesses safer and more secure.

"It's (seminar) about a preventive, proactive approach that business owners can take to protect their business investments and property," FSPD Lt. Travis Shelton said. "It's not about a crime spree or recent rash of crime that's been going on."

During the seminar, which is scheduled to take place at 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 13, at the Carriage House on the corner of Third and Main streets, Shelton and FSPD School Resource Officer Toby Nighswonger will give a presentation on the physical security of a business and will provide tips that owners can use to secure their business and make it safer.

Topics that are scheduled to be presented and discussed during the seminar include: keeping businesses safe and protected from after-hours robbery attempts; protection against shoplifters; identifying possible drug users in the business who are trying to steal or purchase chemicals; and the benefits of surveillance cameras for both police and business owners and whether cameras are a deterrent to crime.

Shelton and Nighs-wonger also plans to talk about how business owners and managers can make it easier for police to check for suspicious activity at a business during their routine nightly patrols, and the topic of theft and how it is often connected to drug use.

In a statement from the chamber, FSACC Business Development Division Chairman Jerry Witt, a local business owner, said that even though the local police department does a great job of patrolling businesses in downtown Fort Scott and other areas of town, officers often find doors to businesses unlocked and dark interiors that are conducive to illegal activity.

"This seminar will help building owners be more alert and educated as to how we can protect our property," Witt said.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m., to allow time for business owners and managers to close up their business for the day and attend, and is not expected to last longer than one hour. Attendees will be welcome to stay and consult with the presenters following the seminar if they wish. Refreshments will be served, and there is no charge to attend the event, the chamber statement said.

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