The Safe Place program, developed by the Seattle Police Department, does two things. First, it lets your patrons know where you stand on bias and hate crimes because hate has no place in our communities. But more importantly, it says to any victim: No matter your background or status you will be heard, you will be treated with care, dignity, and respect from the business you enter, as well as from the Police Officers who respond to investigate. It starts the long process of empowering the victim to report their incident to the Police so we can properly investigate the crime. Suspects depend on putting and keeping the victims and the community in fear, allowing them to further victimize others. Standing up to these suspects gets them off the street and strengthens your community!
Becoming a Safe Place business is FREE! You will be sent a Safe Place sticker, training materials, and flyers all at no cost to you or your business/school. To become a new Safe Place Business, you need to train your employees to do only two things if a victim of a crime or harassment comes in:
1) Let the victim stay in a safe (public) area of your business.
2) Call 911 as soon as possible to report their incident.
The Safe Place Program was created to start bridging the gap between victims of hate crimes or harassment and the police. We acknowledge a very tumultuous past, and we are the ones that need to take that first step in letting the world know where The Hillside Police Department stands on hate, bias crimes, and harassment. |
