April 2017 Cedar Rapids Police Department Newsletter
Welcome to the Official Monthly Newsletter of the Cedar Rapids Police Department. We appreciate the opportunity to serve you and continue to make Cedar Rapids a safe place to live, work, or visit.
Community Engagement
Thank you for the opportunity to connect with you through several activities and events over the past month. Here are highlights of a few of those events.
April is child abuse prevention month.  Prevent Child Abuse Iowa  and a group of students from Metro High School placed pinwheels on the front walkway of the  Police Station to raise awareness about child abuse.
Over 50 children participated in the Crafts with a Cop event at the Northwest Recreation Center over spring break. It was a great way for children to meet police officers and instill trust between officers and these youngsters by working on a fun activity together.
The Police Department held a Safety Career Day for a group of local high school students interested in a public safety career .
Police officers were the proud recipients of a Random Act of Kindness from the Arc of East Central Iowa on World Down Syndrome Day on March 23rd.
Police officers and firefighters took part in a competition at Guns and Hoses Night at the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders to raise money for honor guard units.
The College Resource Officer and other police officers presented a self-defense awareness class on March 5th at Kirkwood Community College.
The Cedar Rapids Police Protective Charity (CRPPC) was contacted by the 3rd grade Religious Education class at St. Pius this winter about partnering up to help the homeless. They wanted to buy the homeless socks to stay warm. The idea spread with the Religious Ed. kids at St. Pius and they all put their pennies together. The CRPPC was presented with a pair of warm socks and $104 of hard earned pennies to launch Operation Stay Warm. ! The CRPPC has since brought on a local knitting club who will be knitting 300 warm hats for the homeless! The plan is to distribute two pairs of warm socks and a hat to each homeless individual this fall. Operation Stay Warm wants to spread kindness and love to all citizens and this program was started because of caring 3rd graders at St. Pius. 
Crime Prevention Tip of the Month
The Cedar Rapids Police Department would like to remind citizens that anyone who sells goods and services door-to-door must be licensed. A criminal background check is required before the application is approved by the City Clerk and Police Department. 

Each person conducting business must obtain their own license. Everyone going door-to-door is required to carry the issued permit, which contains a photograph of the individual.

To verify that there is a permit for a specific business, call the Cedar Rapids City Clerk at (319) 286-5060. To report a possible scam, call the Police Department at (319) 286-5491.
Upcoming Events
We look forward to your participation in community outreach activities. We also encourage you to visit our website at www.cedar-rapids.org/police for information about calls for service in your neighborhood and crime statistics.
The first 200 children to stop by the bicycle helmet booth at the Cedar Rapids Kernels game on May 17th will receive a free bicycle helmet. Discounted club seat tickets are available by calling (319) 896-7560. A portion of ticket sales supports the Police Department and Linn County Safe Kids Coalition.
Please join us for coffee and conversation at Scooter's Coffee at 6600 Kirkwood Boulevard SW on Thursday, April 19th from 9:00-11:00 a.m. This is an opportunity to interact with police officers and ask any questions that you may have.
Cedar Rapids Police Department Community Outreach Division | Phone: 319-286-5425 | Email | Website