The Zionsville Police Dept. has announced a new crime-reduction initiative called SAFE, which stands for Strategically Applied Focus and Enforcement.
ZPD describes the mission of the SAFE Unit as a group that will proactively seek out the criminal element and locate and address issues that adversely affect the safety, security and quality of life of Zionsville citizens. The SAFE Unit will also serve as a resource for the ZPD and other public safety agencies and units.
“These officers will support the work of other ZPD units, including patrol, plus neighboring agencies and task force partners with the overall goal of maintaining a safe community in and around Zionsville,” Police Chief Michael Spears stated in a press release. “Our goal with this unit is to decrease property crimes and crimes against persons, making Zionsville an even safer place to live and do work.”
The SAFE Unit will be staffed with uniformed and plain clothes officers under the direction of the ZPD Investigations Section.
Safe Unit officers will work a flexible schedule to provide the ability to adapt to contemporary crime trends or safety issues. According to the ZPD, the work of the SAFE Unit will be data-driven and aims to be proactive and precise.
The SAFE Unit will have wide-ranging capabilities with a focus on improving quality-of-life issues such as property crimes, narcotics and crimes against persons. Officers in the unit will receive specialty training.
“The Zionsville Police Department has my full support in establishing this unit,” Mayor Emily Styron stated. “As our town continues to grow, this unit will serve us well and support the department’s commitment to providing the highest level of professional police service to the community.”