Dear Neighbors

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I would like to begin this letter with a sincere wish for a happy and prosperous new year for all of you.  I would also like to thank you for all of your support in 2008.  Through our partnership between the community and the police, Jupiter remains a very safe place to live. We continue to achieve the Town Council’s vision for a safe and secure community.

In many cases, a downward turn in the economy not only presents financial challenges, it can also trigger a rise in the crime rate.   With that in mind, I am extremely proud of the fact that in 2008, the overall crime rate in Jupiter decreased nearly twenty percent in comparison to 2007.  This could not have been possible without your cooperation with the “Lock It” campaign.  As you recall in January 2008,  I asked for your assistance in working together with the Police Department to reduce the rising number of victim assisted crimes relating to residential and auto burglaries.  Specifically, I requested that each of you lock your doors, keep valuables out of plain sight and report suspicious activities to the Jupiter Police Department.  Success depended on a majority of our residents changing their behavior by securing their valuables.  The Police Department established what we believed at the time to be a lofty goal of reducing the number of these types of crimes by ten percent.  As of December 6, 2008, the number of residential burglaries in the Town of Jupiter has decreased by more than forty-seven percent in comparison to this same time period in 2007.  Likewise, the number of auto burglaries decreased by more than seventeen percent during the same time period, far exceeding our original goal of ten percent. 

I would like to extend my congratulations and a thank you for a job well done to all of you for this exceptional accomplishment.  It is extremely important however, that we continue to build on our success by remaining diligent in 2009.  Criminals will continue to test our resolve, so remember to lock it and invest in a secure Jupiter.  I am confident that through this partnership and by working together, we can maintain this downward crime trend and continue to live in safe and secure Jupiter neighborhoods. 

As always, I would like to remind you that we can’t do it alone, we need your help.  Remember to lock it, report suspicious activities and get involved in our community.  I hope your holiday season was memorable and I wish you a very happy new year!  I look forward to seeing you around town.