Activities planned to celebrate safety

The National Sheriff's Association and the National Crime Prevention Council's Celebrate Safe Communities starts this week. The event is part of National Crime Prevention Month.

The two agencies assist local law enforcement by providing educational and promotional materials that are used in this campaign.

The Kane County Sheriff's Department will participate in several events this month that promote safe communities.

Officers will visit schools throughout Kane County during Red Ribbon Week, which runs today, Oct. 20, to Saturday, Oct. 25. The Red Ribbon Campaign promotes family and individual responsibility for living healthy, drug-free lifestyles.

The sheriff's department also will present several senior safety seminars in conjunction with TRIAD to promote safe travel, raise awareness of business scams and teach identity theft prevention.

TRIAD is an organization of police and senior groups partnering to prevent victimization of the elderly.

The community policing division of the sheriff's department is requesting that all Neighborhood Watch groups in Kane County organize an annual meeting this month. The annual meeting is a good time to identify neighborhood problems and strengthen crime prevention strategies.

To register for Neighborhood Watch in unincorporated Kane County, visit the sheriff's Web site at kanesheriff.com. Select the Community Policing tab and, at the bottom of that page, select Neighborhood Watch Information. To learn more about crime prevention programs, contact your community policing lieutenant listed on the Web site or call Lt. Don Kramer at (630) 208-2104.