LANCASTER COUNTY (November 8, 2010) – Today, Lancaster County Commissioners Scott Martin, Dennis Stuckey and Craig Lehman and Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman launched a new website for the Lancaster County community: www.crimefreelancaster.org.
The website, created by the Lancaster County Crime Prevention Task Force (CPTF), is a clearinghouse of crime prevention programs in Lancaster County that are available to parents, educators, community organizations and professionals in the legal field.
“It was apparent after the 2008 Lancaster County Crime Summit, that there was a great need for this type of resource in Lancaster County,” said Commissioner Scott Martin. “We believe this website will be a valuable resource not only to parents and children who are looking for help, but also to educators and community organizations who would like to learn about new programs that have proven effective elsewhere in the County.”
www.crimefreelancaster.org provides basic information about prevention, intervention, and treatment programs available to youth in Lancaster County. “Research shows that Crime Prevention programs are most effective when presented to individuals at a young age. That is why initially, this website focuses on programs targeted towards our school aged youth,” said District Attorney Craig Stedman. “The best way to fight crime is to stop it before it begins. This website will aid in advancing such efforts.”
“This website is designed so that each viewer, whether you’re a parent, educator or a community leader, will be able to easily navigate to programs most beneficial to them,” reported Commissioner Dennis Stuckey. “In addition, there is a page dedicated specifically to kids and another page that lists National programs and programs offered through our Federal and State governments.
In developing the website, the CPTF reached out to area organizations and School Districts to identify evidence based programs being used in Lancaster County. “The website will continue to be a work in progress,” stated Becca Franz, Chairperson of the CPTF. “If someone is aware of a program that is not listed, we encourage them to fill out an entry form provided on the bottom of each page on the website or by emailing [email protected].”
“This effort brings together evidence-based programs in our community and highlights them for use by other interested community groups,” said Commissioner Craig Lehman. “In time we hope this site will lead to new conversations and more collaborative efforts in addressing crime throughout Lancaster County.”
The formation of the CPTF stemmed from the 2008 Lancaster County Crime Summit. The Task Force’s mission is to implement initiatives that will create a safer Lancaster County for all of us and future generations while trying to alleviate the costs to taxpayers associated with criminal activities. The Board of Commissioners and District Attorney commented, “We believe www.crimefreelancaster.org will be a valuable tool in achieving this mission and applaud all those who were involved in its development.”
The programs referenced on www.crimefreelancaster.org are for information purposes only.
