Letter to Editor from Mike Vineyard, Republican candidate for Sheriff

Dear Editor

Crime prevention for small business owners needs to be addressed.
Our small business owners are the backbone of any community.   They provide jobs to others, as well as increase our tax base.  

These hard working people are often forgotten by government.   There are programs available for the small business owner that offer principles used to discourage crime.  These principles can be brought to the attention of business owners by use of site assessments for each business in Botetourt County. 

The basic idea behind CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) are site assessments that are undertaken by professionals with expertise in CPTED, who will involve particular specialists as required, to provide comment and solutions on community safety related issues that are within their areas of expertise. Some examples of this are lighting, landscaping, urban design, etc that provide a safer environment for customers, and citizens in general.

As your Sheriff I plan to have deputies trained in the CPTED principles and offer their training and expertise to the small business owners in our county.  Through this program our businesses and communities will be safer.

Also many of these very principles apply to homeowners as well.  I would offer workshops addressing the CPTED principles for the homeowner in a classroom setting at the Sheriff’s Office. 

As your next Sheriff I am excited to work with the small business owners and the community to keep our county safe.
Sincerely,
Mike Vineyard, Candidate for Botetourt County Sheriff 

Contact Mike through his FB page with comments.