Mayor’s Column
SEE IT- HEAR IT – REPORT IT!
You may have noticed signs throughout Voorhees with this slogan encouraging residents to assist our police department in preventing criminal activity.
Crime prevention is the anticipation, recognition and appraisal of a crime risk and taking action to remove or reduce the risk. If you see a crime in progress or suspicious activity, or hear something strange such as a crash, loud bang, or scream, you should immediately contact the Voorhees Township Police Department. Try to provide as much information as possible. In an emergency, dial 911. If your situation prevents you from calling 911, you can now text 911 and receive follow-up texts from the communications center. In a non-emergency, call 856-428-5400. The Police Department’s Anonymous Crime Tip Line is 856-627-7174.
Also, with summer here, a popular time for leaving your house unoccupied to go on vacation, our police department is offering a free security survey to all residents and business owners in Voorhees. Sgt. Eric Camm, an 18-year veteran of the department, will use his crime prevention experience to educate homeowners and business owners of the dangers associated with crime and burglaries. Sgt. Camm will meet with homeowners and business owners to identify potential security weaknesses. To schedule an appointment for the survey, call the Voorhees Township Police Crime Prevention Office at 856-882-1104.
The Voorhees Township Police Department is also requesting residents, businesses and organizations that have security cameras on their property complete a short registration form. The registration does not give the police access to your camera system, but allows our police to maintain a database of active cameras in the event a crime occurs in your area. For example, if a burglary occurs down the street from your property, the police would contact you and ask permission to access your camera to see if an image of a vehicle or suspect was captured on your camera. A detective would call you and ask to review the footage. Participating properties will receive a decal with the official Voorhees Police Safe Cam logo to display as an additional deterrent to crime. The form is on the Voorhees Police web page, www.vtpd.com.
The Voorhees Township Police Department is also active on Nextdoor. Founded in 2010, Nextdoor helps you share relevant updates in your neighborhood and fosters communication with your neighbors on everything from finding a babysitter to helping each other after storms or floods. Nextdoor is a free service that anyone can join. Users need to verify their address to prove they live in the community they are joining. Our police are not able to see any of the content on your Nextdoor website, but you can reply to police messages and send them private messages. To join Nextdoor, visit www.nextdoor.com. You can also sign up and follow our police on Nextdoor by visiting www.nextdoor.com/agency/nj/voorhees-township/voorhees-township-police.
Our police have also established a “Safe Exchange Zone” in the visitor parking lot at the Voorhees Police Administration Building located at 1180 White Horse Road. There is an area on the northeast corner of the visitor parking lot with a painted yellow sidewalk and signage marking the zone. It is recommended that that transactions be conducted during normal business hours, Monday-Friday. If this is not possible, the area is recorded with 24-hour video surveillance and routinely patrolled.
Keeping our community safe is a team effort between our residents and our police department. Please take advantage of the many safety programs the Voorhees Township Police Department has to offer.
** The Voorhees Breakfast and Dinner Rotary Clubs are sponsoring the Great Jersey Peach Fundraiser to help Voorhees elementary school teachers provide healthy snacks for children who do not have enough to eat. You can help by ordering fresh locally grown peaches by July 20 at www.farmhousefruit.com/fundraising/rcv and your peaches will be available for pick up on Saturday, July 23 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Voorhees Middle School loading dock. Rotary members will be standing by to swiftly give you your order.
** The second show in our Summer Concert Series will be Thursday, July 19, and will feature Good Vibrations: A Celebration of the Beach Boys. Good Vibrations blends the vocal layering and studio precision that is a signature of the Beach Boys with the energy of a live stage production. Good Vibrations covers the greatest hits of the Beach Boys and their more than 30 years of making music. The show is free and starts at 7:30 p.m. on the “Great Lawn” at Connolly Park. A “Beer Garden” and food trucks will open at 6:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.voorheesnj.com or call the show hot line at 856-882-SHOW.
**The Voorhees Theatre Company Summer Theatre Camp will feature Shrek The Musical, Jr. with performances on Aug. 1 at 10 a.m., Aug. 2 at 10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., Aug. 3 at 7:30 p.m. and Aug. 4 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The Summer Young Adult Show will be Hairspray with performances on Aug. 9, 10 and 11.
**Our 4th Annual National Night Out will be Tuesday, Aug. 7, beginning at 6 p.m. at Connolly Park. The VTPD does a great job in organizing this community event. The evening promotes police community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie while striving to make our neighborhoods safer. The residents get a chance to meet our police officers and enjoy carnival attractions, games, music, great food and more.
** Voorhees Township is offering discounted tickets to Morey’s Piers in Wildwood. Tickets are available in the Municipal Clerk’s Office at Voorhees Town Hall. Prices vary according to the type of ticket and several options are available to residents and non-residents. For more information about tickets visit www.voorheesnj.com.
