What is Neighborhood Watch?
Neighborhood Watch is a program designed to increase the safety and sense of community in neighborhoods by organizing and involving individuals and families in a united crime prevention effort. Neighborhood Watch participants learn how to:
• Communicate regularly with their neighbors using tools specific to Neighborhood Watch
• Recognize and report suspicious and criminal activity
• Increase home and vehicle security
• Increase personal safety of residents
• Make neighborhoods less attractive to criminals
When neighbors take the responsibility to build and maintain livable and cohesive neighborhoods, those neighborhoods are less vulnerable to crime. Under Neighborhood Watch, involved neighbors collaborate with the City’s Crime Prevention Coordinators, police, neighborhood coalitions and associations, schools, parks personnel, area businesses, and others to create a united, secure, and peaceful community.
Purpose of Neighborhood Watch
Neighborhood Watch has several purposes:
• To help reduce crime and fear of crime in our neighborhoods. When an organized Neighborhood Watch exists in an area, it can serve as a deterrent to criminal activity, as well as give residents a sense of safety so they can better enjoy their homes and neighborhoods.
• To help ensure a prompt and effective response to neighborhood crime and livability problems. Trained Neighborhood Watch members are in a good position to notice problems within a neighborhood, such as burglaries, vandalism, abandoned vehicles, illegal dump sites, evidence of drug dealing or manufacturing, and street prostitution, and they know where to report these problems in order to get a quicker, more effective solution.
• To promote positive communication and relationships within a neighborhood. Neighborhood Watch provides an avenue for neighbors to get to know one another and