HOULTON – A cooperative venture slated to begin soon may leave local business owners feeling safer in their stores and restaurants.

Police Chief Daniel Soucy said Friday that his department is collaborating with the Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce to develop a Business Watch program.

It is aimed at deterring crime and educating business owners about how to deal with offenders.

The chief anticipates launching the program by the end of the year. “We want to educate the community and look at the problems that our businesses are having,” Soucy said.

“For instance, we know that passing bad checks is a problem at many stores, so we’d like to teach employees and employers what they can do about it and how they can work with the police and the district attorney to best prosecute those involved,” he said.

Officers already spend chunks of their evenings patrolling business areas to make sure doors are locked and windows are secured.

They also are called upon to answer burglar alarms when they sound in stores after-hours.

The new program will combine those elements of policing and more, Soucy said Friday.

“We plan to do some seminars and workshops with the business owners,” Soucy said. “When we target crimes like shoplifting, the first thing we plan to do is educate them on ways to protect themselves. We also plan to show them what they can do to apprehend a perpetrator and hold them legally until we get there.”

Chris Batby, administrator for the Chamber, said recently that she thinks the program will be beneficial to business owners. The Chamber is working with police to plan the workshops.

Since many Chamber members are also landlords, a section of the new program is slated to include sessions on how to resolve problems that can arise over lease agreements.

Information about the new program will be distributed soon.