Neighborhood Watch programs go by many names: Community Watch, Crime Watch, Building Watch. But whatever you call it, when neighbors organize to help the police watch over their community, it can make a significant impact on reducing crime and fear in your area.
First Steps
An individual, community organization, or law enforcement agency can initiate a Neighborhood Watch program through a few simple steps:
Hold a meeting to talk about crime problems and see if there is enough interest to organize a Watch.
Arrange for local law enforcement professionals to train neighbors in home security, crime patterns, what to watch for and how to report it.
Select an overall coordinator and block captains to organize volunteers and establish effective communications.
Sign up volunteers, including homeowners and renters, business owners, the elderly, working parents, young people ... anybody who can help.
Effective Neighborhood Watch Program Materials and Essentials
A typical Neighborhood Watch program requires:
Regular meetings to keep your organization organized.
Volunteers patrolling the neighborhood, on foot or in cars, to spot and report any problems.
Regular communications, such as fliers, newsletters, or paper or electronic bulletin board messages.
Special events to keep members interested and active, including helpful seminars, block parties, neighborhood clean-ups and tournaments.
Special safety programs to meet your community's unique needs, like a block parent program to help children during emergencies.
What A Neighborhood Watch Does
The typical Watch program involves four ways to make your neighborhood safer:
Offers a service to mark valuable items with an identifying number to discourage theft and help the police track down stolen articles.
Utilizes proven techniques to make homes safer.
Organizes residents in watching over each other and the neighborhood, noting and reporting anything unusual or suspicious to the local authorities, including:
Screams or calls for help
Someone looking into cars or homes
A stranger removing items from unoccupied homes or closed businesses
Vehicles cruising slowly or without lights
Anyone being forced into a vehicle
A stranger stopping to talk to a child
Calling 911 or other local emergency number to:
Quickly explain what happened
Give your name and address
Describe the suspect's gender and race, age, height, weight, hair color, clothes, and distinguishing features like facial hair, scars, accent
If a vehicle is involved, report the color, make, model, year, license plate and distinguishing features, like bumper stickers or dents
