Crime Prevention

The Christiansburg Police Department offers a wide variety of crime prevention initiatives and programs to help make the community as safe and informed as possible. View the full list of programs (PDF).

Certified Crime Prevention Community

The Town of Christiansburg is certified as a Crime Prevention Community by the Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS).

According to DCJS, the Crime Prevention Community program is designed to foster the development of community safety initiatives at the local level. The goal of the program is to publicly recognize and certify localities that have implemented a defined set of community safety strategies as part of a comprehensive community safety/crime prevention effort.

One of the first of its kind in the nation, the program requires that a locality meet 12 core community safety elements/strategies and a minimum of seven approved optional elements in order to be certified. These elements include:

  • Existence of a local crime and safety coalition
  • A DCJS certified Crime Prevention Specialist assigned crime prevention duties in the local law enforcement agency
  • A neighborhood watch program
  • Community policing or crime control program
  • Organized distribution of safety literature
  • Designation of staff trained to conduct community safety assessments
  • Functional crime analysis capability
  • A comprehensive school safety audit process
  • A business outreach (watch) program
  • An on-site victim/witness services program
  • A delinquency prevention program
  • The law enforcement agency must be accredited or seeking accreditation

According to Mark Sisson, Christiansburg’s Police Chief, “Low crime rates don’t just happen; it takes lots of people making it happen. Crime prevention in Christiansburg is absolutely a community effort - and this certification reinforces that.”

He went on to say, “Plenty of communities have people working on crime prevention but this certification ties it all together and keeps people on the same page. Preventing crime involves focusing on all people from youth through old age.”

Business Services

Among the services offered through this program are free safety assessments of homes or businesses in Christiansburg. The assessment involves looking at things such as shrub height and effective use of lighting to deter would-be criminals. A property owner simply needs to contact the Christiansburg Police Department at 540-382-3131 to set up an appointment.

According to Chief Sisson, these programs “underscore the commitment Christiansburg has in maintaining a safe community for all its citizens. We look forward to partnering with all aspects of the community to continue this effort.”

The Christiansburg Business Watch trains area businesses to observe and report suspicious activity immediately to police.

Interested businesses may sign up through our website.

 Community Safety Elements
The additional qualifying optional community safety elements Christiansburg had were:

  • DARE Program
  • TRIAD
  • Gun Safety Program
  • School Resource Officer program
  • Interagency Code Enforcement
  • Domestic Violence Program
  • Project Lifesaver