UCPD to Hold Community Meeting Thursday

Union City residents are invited to a public meeting this Thursday hosted by UCPD’s Community Oriented Policing and Problem Solving unit.

The COPPS unit works closely with Neighborhood Watch groups and is dedicated to crime prevention, nuisance abatement, neighborhood dispute mediation and other problems reported by Neighborhood Watch members.

Officers will discuss crime prevention tips and go over last year’s crime trends at the meeting.

According to Cmdr. Ben Horner, there were no homicides in Union City in 2012. The number of robberies also dropped 10 percent and felony assaults with weapons dropped 33 percent last year; residential burglaries increased 8 percent.

A full analysis of 2012 crime data is currently being conducted, Horner said.

“The success of the Neighborhood Watch programs and the ability of our police department to reduce crimes are linked together in a partnership,” Horner said in an email to Neighborhood Watch captains. “Your ability to recognize strangers in your respective neighborhoods along with unusual situations generally results in a positive outcome as the response times are reduced.”

Thursday’s meeting will also serve as an introduction to new members of the COPPS unit and UCPD’s new online presence, which includes breaking news alerts via Nixle.

The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. inside of the CERT building, located at 33555 Central Ave. behind the fire station.

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