Business

ASK THE DA: Safe Stop

May 24, 2013 Charles J. Hynes

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Can you explain what the decal “Safe Stop” posted in a local storefront means? What is a Safe Stop location?

In August 2011, I started Project Safe Stop in Brooklyn with merchants in Sunset Park, Williamsburg and Park Slope.

I started the program to provide a safe place for youth, seniors and all others to go if they need help in case of emergency, to access information about the District Attorney’s Neighborhood Office Program, and crime prevention programs offered by both my office and the Police Department. Each Safe Stop location is a safe place to go in the event of an emergency.

If someone is lost, has a medical emergency, or is victim of a crime, he or she can go into any one of these Safe Stop locations where special trained merchants will have all types of information and resources available to help.

Participants in Safe Stop display decals in their store windows identifying themselves as a designated Safe Stop location. The merchants are trained by executive directors of neighborhood Business Improvement Districts (BID). The merchants are directed to call 911 for emergencies that require immediate medical, police or fire department response.

Another component of Safe Stop has my assistant district attorneys spreading the word about this public safety initiative via our Legal Lives Program in which my attorneys appear in schools throughout Brooklyn each year to present a law-related curriculum to young people

This is an example of law enforcement and community working together at its best. If you are interested in becoming a Safe Stop location, please call 718-250-2247. Also, to find the location of the neighborhood offices nearest you, call our hotline at 718-250-2555. To have your questions answered in a future column, send your inquiries to [email protected].