CPPO First Patrol
Press Release:
The new Community Peace Patrol Officer (CPPO) program from Adopt-a-Friend will hold its first public patrol on Tuesday April 2nd, at the Parkchester Station from 2-4 PM.
A successful launch and organizing meeting on March 26th, 2013, was very well attended.
Adopt-a-Friend is now officially introducing its new Community Peace Patrol Officers program to the public on Tuesday, April 2nd from 2-4 PM at the Parkchester MTA station on Hugh Grant Circle, the last express stop on the #6 subway line to Pelham Bay. Local businesses, politicians and the public at large will attend this first public action of the newly minted CPPO program.
This program is all about crime prevention, not law enforcement. To ensure top notch professionalism, and responsible operation, the program is being developed with support from the New York Police Department. The purpose is to create positive relations within the community, including between the community and law enforcement.
For some who want it, it can provide preparation for a later career in law enforcement. The primary focus is however definitely crime prevention and providing the resources for constructive solutions at the local level, all the while being the eyes and ears of the community with the intention of problem solving, never crime fighting.
The program will include referrals to community resources at all levels for whatever situations may be causing the problem, which may range from housing, to substance abuse, so physical and/or sexual abuse, career, education, criminal problems, or simple lack of opportunity. Importantly, it will also be an outreach program, for many other services, for in many cases programs exist, but people may not know about them.
The program is another initiative of a local community leader, Sheikh Moussa Drammeh. Mr. Drammeh is also the originator of Peace December, a celebration of peace and tolerance which has now been recognized not only by religious and civic leaders, as well as the city administration in New York, but also in places around the world. Drammeh is the founder of the Islamic Leadership School, which is the first K-12 Islamic School in the Bronx.
He has for years been a strong supporter of positive community relations with law enforcement, recognizing that the first step towards problem solving is to own the problem, and take responsibility for it, and for the community to be willing to take action, instead of blaming others. As always, he is not just talking the talk, but he is walking the walk, and leading from the front. Subsequent to this first public action of this new all-volunteer service, a new website will be launched in the near future to provide extensive resources for the program, ranging from community resources (service providers) for various support, and counseling services, to operational support for the CPPO program itself, as well as ways to apply for assistance from the program. The Peace December calendar of events will be part of the program also, as will other related public events.
Contact information for various partner organizations will be listed, from government, to police, District Attorneys, etc. Sheikh Moussa Drammeh has personally taken extensive law enforcement training over the last fifteen years, to gain a better understanding of the problems, and he has learned firsthand how positive community relations and prevention are the most important things a neighborhood can do to improve quality of life, and the local business climate.
The Community Peace Patrol Officers will wear a uniform, which will show the badge shown above, and will carry an ID. On Tuesday April 2nd, the public will get to meet them. Similar programs have already proven their value in other New York neighborhoods.
All of Adopt-a-Friend’s activities are focused on creating value for the community, and whatever it is people choose to do for the organization will enhance their lives, and the lives of everyone in the community.
Adopt-a-friend is supported by many forms of contributions and donations, as well as by its own fundraising activities. It welcomes donations, volunteers and interns.
Community Peace Patrol Officers
2006 Westchester Avenue, Bronx,
New York 10462
muslimparrot.com
718-822-5555
