Senior residents of the area were invited to Coffee with a Cop, an event hosted jointly by Seniors and Law Enforcement Together (SALT) and Pea Ridge Police. A couple of dozen people attended and heard Pea Ridge Police Chief Lynn Hahn share recommendations for staying safe.
One man in attendance said he lived outside the city limits and asked who he should call if there's a problem.
Helpful phone numbers
Emergency: 911
Non-emg. dispatch: 479-451-8220
Non-emg. Police Dept.: 479-451-0328
Non-emg. Fire Dept.: 479-1111
Pea Ridge City Hall: 479-1122
Benton County Sheriff non-emg.: 479-271-1008
"Outside of the city limits, you call Benton County Sheriff's Office," Hahn explained, as Lt. Michael Lisenbee handed out information with phone numbers for both emergency and non-emergency calls.
Linda Hill asked about speed limit signs that note school zone "when children are present." Hahn said if you can see a child, consider that children are present even if it's not a school day.
"We do our best to keep speeding down and have signs out posting your speed and a frowny face," Hahn said. "If you have an area where you'd like us to put the sign, let us know."
One lady asked how to get a speed limit sign posted in her neighborhood and Hahn deferred to Mayor Jackie Crabtree who said that was the jurisdiction of Street Superintendent Nathan See, adding that the speed limit within the city is 25 miles per hour unless otherwise posted.
"We don't have a lot of crime, but when we do, we dig into it deeply," Hahn said. "I live in Rogers and they don't even take reports on car break-ins. Our guys usually catch them."
Hahn said locking doors and having lights on, even motion-detector lights, can help deter crime.
"I know a lot of seniors see a lot of things in this town," Capt. Chris Olson said. "I've worked many cases where we had no idea someone was home all day." He said many senior residents who are home observe a lot in their neighborhood and can provide valuable information to the police.
"You are that generation that doesn't complain, takes care and minds your own business," he said. "If it seems like it's not right, it's probably not right. Even if you think you're wasting our time, call."
One man, who said he was new to the community, asked: "How many policemen and how many miles do you cover?"
Hahn said there are 15 officers including him. "That sounds a lot, but once you start doing shifts ... during day we have the captain and lieutenant out, but during the night, sometimes there is only one officer out."
In answer to a question, Hahn said there are not set hours for Halloween and there will be more officers on patrol. Lt. Michael Lisenbee said there are no Level 4 sex offenders within the city limits and that the department keeps tabs on all the offenders.
Olson said two churches in town have large events -- one on Wednesday night at First Baptist Church and one on Thursday at The Ridge Community Church.
"Usually when a there's an event in the city with a large turnout, we have police officer there even if you don't know they're there," Olson said.
Community on 10/30/2019