Do you walk your dog in El Segundo? If so, the El Segundo Police Department is asking for your help – play a part in keeping El Segundo safe with a direct line to ESPD Dispatch and an opportunity to win one of our giveaways for participating!
The free-to-join El Segundo Police Paws on Patrol program is aimed at leveraging residents who walk their dogs in El Segundo as an extra pair of eyes and ears for ESPD. The ESPD Paws on Patrol program is a local version of a national campaign known as the Dog Walker Watch (DWW) program founded by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW) in 2014.
“Every day there are dozens of dog walkers moving through our community,” said ESPD Crime Prevention Officer Laurie Risk, creator of the program. “Many of you are preoccupied with texting, chatting on the phone, or listening to music during your neighborhood walk – why not use the time to be more aware of what’s going on in your neighborhood.”
What If?
Based on data from the American Community Survey, in 2017 there were 7,154 households in El Segundo, with an average size of 2.53 people per household. Let’s assume roughly 20% are dog owners – that’s about 1,400 deputized dogs roaming the streets!
According to a February 2018 study by Rover.com of 1,500 U.S. dog owners, “The majority of dog owners (79 percent) think their dog should be walked at least twice a day, but 57 percent say they skip dog walks every week. Thirty-eight percent of owners actually walk their dog once or less per day.”
Let’s reduce these stats and assume 70% of El Segundo dog owners walk their dogs at least twice per week – that’s 980 (1,400 dogs in El Segundo X .70) dogs being walked twice per week for a total of 1960 (980 dogs X two days-a-week) instances of a dog being walked in El Segundo each week. If 10% joined the ESPD Paws on Patrol program we’d have 196 instances of a dog wearing the ESPD Paws on Patrol bandana with their dog owner roaming the streets in any given week. If 75% joined, we’d have 1,470 instances of Paws on Patrol members roaming the streets each week.
This Has Potential
What if El Segundo was known for residents being passionate about preventing crime? What if hundreds of residents joined the ESPD Paws on Patrol program? We’d constantly have residents walking their dogs with the ESPD Paws on Patrol bandana – this shows criminals that we’re aware, that we notice.
Each month we reach over 80,000 people in and around El Segundo. We’d like to post another article about ES Residents fighting back against crime with programs like Paws on Patrol and display a map of our coverage. See this as an example:
So, yes – you CAN make a difference by simply placing the ESPD Paws on Patrol bandana on your dog when you take your next walk.
eGundo.com Giveaway
We’re giving away $50 gift cards to up to six residents that participate in the Paws on Patrol program. Giveaway details:
- Complete the form below to enter.
- Post a picture of you and your dog on a walk to Facebook or Instagram using the following message “On a walk, doing my part to keep #elsegundo safe through the #espdpawsonpatrol program #egundogiveaway.” and tag eGundo (@egundo for Facebook and @egundogram for Instagram).
- Feel free to add more to your post but you must tag eGundo and include the hashtags #espdpawsonpatrol and #egundogiveaway.
You’ll receive an entry for each post you make through August 31, 2018. We’ll have up to six winners with a total value of $300 ($50 gift cards to businesses in town) – pending the participation, we may continue this as a monthly giveaway. The first step is to complete the form below.
Join the El Segundo Police Paws on Patrol Program
You and your best friend can now help fight crime by reporting crimes as well as suspicious activity, people, and vehicles while on your walk.
What’s more, ESPD is providing a direct line to the ESPD Dispatch Center for residents. According to Crime Prevention Officer Laurie Risk, residents of El Segundo should call (310) 524-2760 to report suspicious activity.
This direct line may come as a relief to some El Segundo residents who have experienced lackluster calls at times with the Dispatch Center outside of El Segundo that typically handles calls when residents dial 9-1-1.
How to Join Option 1 – Call
El Segundo residents can call Crime Prevention Officer Laurie Risk to receive their free Paws on Patrol Bandana at (310) 524-2274.
How to Join Option 2 – Email
When you complete the form below we’ll send your request to Crime Prevention Officer Laurie Risk. If you choose to display your neighborhood block publicly, we’ll add your location to the actual Paws on Patrol Map we’ll publish once we have enough coverage (not a good idea to show a map with a few dots on it). Again, our goal is to publish another article about ES residents fighting back against crime. Your home address will be anonymous (we’ll place the POP logo on your block) and will NOT be used for any other purpose.
How to Report Suspicious Activity
It’s common to get nervous when calling the El Segundo Police Department, however, the sooner you provide relevant information to ESPD Dispatch, the sooner help can arrive. Take note of the following:
- Where are you? (cross streets, landmarks, address if possible)
- How many subjects? (is it one person, two, etc)
- What are they doing? (trespassing, stealing, lurking, loitering, etc.)
- What do they look like? (sex, race, height, weight, clothing, hair color)
- What are they driving? (make, model, old/new, color, license plate, and/or unique properties to help identify their car)
- Which way did they go? (direction is key as Dispatch sends out units)
Additional Tips
Get connected with your neighbors – let them know about:
- Open garage doors
- Newspapers/mail stacking up
- Unlocked cars
- Personal property left in vehicles
- Unsecured homes (windows open, doors unlocked)
ESPD Paws on Patrol. Be an extra pair of eyes and ears for the police by reporting crimes as well as suspicious activity, people, and vehicles.
