Community Safety Plan

People desire to live in a community where they fully enjoy life and all of its elements.  This includes being free from crime and the fear of crime, having a pleasant environment in which to work, relax, and raise families, and reach the potential that each person has.  The quality of life in a community is the result of all the characteristics that make up daily living.  Each person and the combined community strive for and deserve the highest overall quality of life possible.

A community’s quality of life does not happen in a vacuum.  All citizens are responsible for contributing to the desired level.  It takes a combined effort to have a high quality of life.  A low quality of life can occur by complacency or apathy.  Since crime is a social phenomenon, crime prevention is the concern of every person in the community.  The police are responsible for the full time focus on helping the community to be safer.  It is a partnership with everyone having a role and responsibility.

In an effort to develop, maintain, and enhance the quality of life in Kernersville, this community safety plan has been developed.  It will provide long term guidance and direction to the agency and community.  The priorities and strategies expressed herein are fundamental to the health of our community.  These are qualities, characteristics, and activities that are constant.  These will be supplemented with annual goals and objectives that work towards our ultimate goal as expressed in our vision, “a community where all citizens enjoy the highest quality of life that is free of crime and disorder”.

Crime and the fear of crime affects every member of our community.  It impacts how we live, how our community is viewed by us and others, and how we interact with our fellow citizens.  The costs of crime (and the fear of crime) are too high.  Any amount of crime should be unacceptable to us.  While the Kernersville Police Department (KPD) does a very good job of investigating crime, the primary mission of KPD shall be the prevention of crime.  It is better to prevent crime than solve it after we have been victimized.

Kernersville enjoys a very high quality of life.  This is the result of community desires and efforts, community support of its police department, and a police department that is focused on service and enhancing the quality of life for all.  The Kernersville Police Department pledges to work diligently towards delivering ‘A Higher Level of Service’ to maintain and enhance the overall quality of life for all citizens.  We will deliver this service legally, ethically, professionally and compassionately.