Over 150 people attended the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce’s (NACC) spring general membership luncheon last month, which featured a discussion on workplace safety and prevention.
The forum was led by Naperville Police Chief Jason Arres and Crime Prevention Specialist of the Naperville Police Department (NPD) Jim Pacetti.
Workplace safety and prevention
Pacetti acknowledged that all theft, robbery, burglary, or active threat situations differ. To help be more prepared, he suggests everyone should increase their situational awareness.
- Call or text the Naperville Police Department about the incident if possible
- Try to calm yourself by controlling your breathing
- Know where the exits are in any building you enter
“You need to be aware of what’s going on around you,” said Pacetti. “You need to keep your head up.”
Pacetti said in 55% of these situations, the attacker had some previous connection with that location.
NPD’s approach to mental health issues
Arres spoke about the resources and teams at the NPD that address mental health crises in the City of Naperville.
“When you call 911, it may not be badges and guns coming to help,” said Arres. “It may be a social worker accompanied by one of our crisis intervention training officers. We got over a thousand mental health calls this year as a department, we will bring resources.”
Pacetti continued the mental health discussion, detailing how it is vital for business owners or managers to communicate with employees.
“Someone seems a little bit off; find out what’s going on with them,” said Pacetti. “It may be work-related, it may be personal, but it’s going to make a difference with people when you take the time to actually talk with them.”
If you have a story idea, we want to hear from you!
