Aug. 15, 2005 –– National Crime Prevention Council president Al Lenhardt will address town meetings this week on crime prevention sponsored by Delegate Donna M. Christensen.
They will be held Aug. 17 at the Holiday Inn Windward Passage Hotel conference room on St. Thomas and Aug. 18 at the Legislature building on St. John. Both will run from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
On St. Croix, a town meeting will be held Aug. 20 at the St. Croix Educational Complex auditorium. It will run from 9 a.m. to noon.
Michael Thurland at the delegate's St. Croix office said the purpose is to forge a coalition of residents, members of crime-fighting groups like crime watches and the Weed and Seed program as well as law enforcement and other officials from local and federal agencies.
"We have to be united in our efforts to fight crime," Christensen said in a news release.
She called on the community to come hear what's happening across the country when people resolve to take back the communities where they live and work.
The National Crime Prevention Council, a non-profit agency, is working to bring together agencies and organizations to prevent and fight crime, substance abuse and juvenile delinquency.
It has its roots in the "Take a Bite of Crime" campaign that featured McGruff, the crime fighting dog.
Before joining NCPC, Lenhardt was the senior vice president for government relations, environment, and the infrastructure business unit for the Shaw Group Inc. He is the former vice-president and chief executive office of the Council on Foundations and a former sergeant-at-arms of the U.S. Senate. He retired from the U.S. Army as a major general. While in the army, he served as commanding general of recruiting command at Fort Knox, Ky., where he managed more than 13,000 people in over 1,800 locations.
Lenhardt holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of Nebraska, a master's degree in public administration from Central Michigan University, and an a master's degree in the administration of justice from Wichita State University.
The town meetings are sponsored by the Law Enforcement Planning Commission and the St. Croix Chamber of Commerce.
To learn more about NCPC visit www.ncpc.org.
