Tricom is a community coalition partnering law enforcement, businesses and citizens. It has been in existence since January of 1994. The program started in the communities of Neenah , Menasha and Town of Menasha . In 1995 the Winnebago County Sheriff Department joined and presently Tricom encompasses all of Winnebago County . The group is committed to its mission statement: With an assembled team of community-minded individuals, dedicated to reducing crime and promoting health and safety in our area,

We will

• Endeavor to provide focus and recommendations to other agencies, clubs, institutions and fellow citizens for action on their part that could positively impact crime reduction and promote health and safety.
• Seek public and private funding (as a tax exempt organization) for specific projects / solutions.
• Recruit volunteers to work on identified problems.

To accomplish this mission Tricom has enlisted committees to address specific areas of need in the community.

The following are a list of committees and their ongoing projects or responsibilities:

Crime Reporter - publishes and distributes bi-monthly publication filled with crime prevention/ safety tips as well as a listing of property crime sorted by date and jurisdiction for Winnebago County.

Everybody's Business - produces a monthly crime prevention cable access program which airs throughout Northeast Wisconsin on 3 different cable networks. Time Warner Cable produces the program which is organized by Tricom and the Winnebago County crime prevention officers.

Alcohol Tobacco & Drug Prevention - This committee was responsible for setting up education programs for juveniles who have been arrested for alcohol or tobacco offenses. By successfully completing these programs, students are given a second chance and their tickets are voided.

GREAT and YouthGo - These committees maintain contacts in the teenaged crowd by offering low cost or free activities to them both when school is in session and during the summer.

Bicycle Theft Reduction - This committee began to formalize a communication between local governments to compare the found and stolen bicycles. The effort afforded has allowed bicycles to be returned to their owner when they are stolen from one city and left in another. Another movement spearheaded by this committee was convincing the local governments to waive the bicycle license fee as a way to encourage more people to register their bicycles. The new licenses issued then were listed in a shared database among 3 police departments.

Tricom was formed to assist crime prevention officers in delivery of safety or education programs in an effort to keep the community informed and prevent people from becoming crime victims. The group has about 27 members ranging in age from 30's to 70's. The first task in its initial status was to register as a non profit organization. It successfully achieved that goal. Since then it has served as a fiscal agent to several programs. Tricom has also started programs to fill voids in Winnebago County and then found the program take off on its own and become financially supported by a special interest group. A good example of that is our tobacco education program. The tobacco education program was founded through Tricom's Alcohol Tobacco, Drug committee for several years. Tricom began researching a new program after losing an instructor and connected with the Outagamie County Tobacco Coalition who had a similar interest. Tricom then partnered with OCTC and approved an American Lung Association program which the OCTC adopted the entire program and services 3 counties.

Tricom's county-wide exposure is a reflection of its ongoing performance. In 2002, the group has been involved in countless behind the scene activities in Neenah , Menasha and the Town of Menasha . By inviting representatives from Oshkosh we were able to have all of the large cities participating in the group. Tricom then realized we had accomplished county-wide participation and modified the group's name from Tricom the Tri-communities coalition to Tricom the partnering of citizens, business and law enforcement. Tricom is always interested in specific ways it can assist the community to bring safety and wellness issues to enhance our lives. Teen suicide issues are being brought to the attention of our local schools as a Tricom representative is introducing a program built to address that issue also. It is difficult to formally account for the impact this group has left on the community. Their efforts formally and behind the scenes are prevalent everywhere. Tricom is a valuable resource of talented and dedicated people who want to help make a difference in our community.