Left to Right:Jason Green, Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce;
Tommie Schlitts, Team Leader, Tim Hortons and
Keith Tobar, Market Loss Prevention Team Leader for Meijer’s Lansing market support Lansing’s new Business Watch program. TNCP Photo
LANSING, MI — Michele Hirshfield, co-owner along with Tom Schlitts of Tim Hortons located at 5645 Cedar Street said, “Business Watch is a much needed program in our communities; it is a valuable resource for small businesses that are not affiliated with a larger corporation offering these tools. After all, we are the capitol of Michigan and it is important we spearhead such programs because sharing knowledge is power and unites us.”
According to the Lansing Police Department (LPD), Business Watch is a partnership between the business community and law enforcement designed to promote communication between the two entities. The communication will also include educating merchants about crime prevention, watching other neighboring businesses and being proactive in reporting suspicious activity. They also stated by taking control of what happens in your business community, the chance lessens for them to be victimized. So far there are 25 businesses signed up.
The Business Watch program was started due to growing concerns about the crimes against businesses, like theft and burglary. They are soliciting help from small and large businesses alike.
Keith Tobar, Market Loss Prevention Team Leader for Meijer’s Lansing market said, “Meijer has joined the effort to make sure that not only we collaborate with the police department on crime prevention issues but we also want to let other business owners know that Meijer wants to provide a safer environment for their employees, customers and the community.”
Meijer has supercenters in Lansing, E. Lansing, DeWitt and Okemos. According to 2005 data, Meijer Inc. had 2,175 employees. Tobar is responsible for resolving theft issues at the stores.
There is also a new web-based program called the Citizen Observer. Community officers with LPD will send an e-mail or text message every day about crimes that occurred on the previous day. To sign up to the program go to www.citizenobserver.com and select “Sign Up For Alerts”.
For those who do not have computer access, the same information is available at 517-483-4322.
March 27, 2011 – April 9, 2011 Edition
