Related Pages Operation Safe Streets G.R.R.I.P. Program Operation Town Watch Anti-Graffiti Network

This is not an exhaustive list of every program now in place. The initiatives outlined here merely reflect the most enduring and well-known operations now being conducted. Those that are confidential in nature are not represented here.

Some of the city's numerous anti-crime programs include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Operation Safe Streets
The formidable goal of the Philadelphia Police Department in Operation Safe Streets is to return control of the streets of Philadelphia to the neighbors by preventing any open air drug markets from conducting business within the boundaries of Philadelphia.

• District Mini-Stations
Police substations are staffed by police and volunteer community members and seek to organize neighborhoods into a cohesive, crime-fighting entity. Some of the efforts they engage in are the hosting of crime prevention seminars, the delivery of crime-risk assessments to area homeowners and businesses, facilitating the organization of Town Watch patrol groups, and other neighborhood strengthening endeavors.

• Drug Task Force and Weed & Seed Program
These programs identify and target areas of the city which are in need of additional police drug enforcement efforts and other city agency efforts.

• Police/Clergy Program
Clergy members ride along with officers in an attempt to ease community tensions and act as liaisons between the community and police officers on the street, the district commanders and the department as a whole. By utilizing their cooperative efforts, the department is privy to vital criminal intelligence information.

• D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program)
Provides classroom instruction regarding the dangers of drug abuse to public and private school children.

• Footbeat Program
Increased footbeats make police more accessible to the community and promote the exchange of valuable crime prevention information to the public and the receipt of crime intelligence from the citizenry.

• Youth Aid Panels
Selected community volunteers mediate non judicial punishment to juvenile offenders who commit certain designated crimes. It serves as an alternative to the traditional juvenile system and helps to alleviate court backup. It has been shown to reduce the rates of recidivism substantially.

• G.R.E.A.T. (Gang Resistance Education And Training)
Provides classroom instruction regarding anti-violence and anti-gang curriculum.

• Cops Ahead Program
Is federally funded program for footbeat officers, deployed city-wide to reduce drug trafficking and other illicit activity.

• Heads-Up Program
The Heroin Education and Dangerous Substance Understanding Program (Heads-up) was established to attack the drug problems from a preventive standpoint. It has been presented to thousands of young people and has met with great success.

• Operation Town Watch
Citizen patrol teams provide the Police Department with additional eyes and ears to ensure safer neighborhoods and increased crime intelligence. For information on how to participate, please contact your local police district or visit the Philadelphia Operation Town Watch web site.

• D.U.I. Sobriety Checkpoints
Are designed to reduce D.U.I. incidents through pre-scheduled routine car stops on major highways by specially trained police officers and supervisors.

• Anti-Graffiti Program
Police officers from each division are assigned to enforce vandalism laws. They also investigate graffiti incidents and develop intelligence on significant graffiti vandals to insure the maximum penalty upon conviction. In addition, they cooperate with the Philadelphia Anti-Graffiti Network.

• Bicycle Patrol
Originally instituted in the Center City District to provide a conspicuous police presence, increase mobility, and effectiveness. It has since been expanded to include all police districts.

• Off-Road Motorcycle Patrol
Implemented to provide patrol services to the wooded parks of Philadelphia. These units focus on preventing youth violence and lawbreaking in the city's park areas.

• S.A.V E. Program (Stolen Auto Verification Effort)
Is a voluntary program whereby the owner gives the police permission to stop their vehicle during certain hours of the day when the vehicle is not normally being operated. Participating vehicles are marked with specially designed window decals. For information on how to participate, please contact your local police district.

• B.O.N.D. Program (Business Owner's Notification Decal)
A registry program that encourages business owners to provide police with contact information that can be accessed in the event of an emergency at their business. The registry system is further exploited to deliver crime-prevention information and advisories to businesses as warranted. Collected data is maintained on the department's computer system and is retrievable by officers on patrol when needed. For information on how to participate, please contact your local police district.

• Citizen's Police Academy
Citizens take part in a program designed to familiarize the community with the Police Department's training practices, rules and regulations.

• Curfew Enforcement
The City of Philadelphia has a curfew that affects juveniles under the age of 18. Young persons below 18 are not allowed to be out unescorted between the hours of 10:30 PM until 6:00 AM, Sunday through Thrusday. On Friday and Saturday nights, the curfew is from 12:00 AM until 6:00 AM. The police vigorously enforce these curfews with arrests and remedials. Parents are held culpable for all fines assessed against their children after arrest.

• Truancy Enforcement
Patrol forces aggressively seek out truants while school is in session. A protocal has been established to hold these children and their parents accountable for transgressions.