Neighborhood Watch
Neighborhood
Watch Map
The Neighborhood Watch Program is a program that enables
the police and the community to work together to make
specific geographical areas more crime-resistant. It is
a neighborhood and community-based effort, designed to
help citizens and the police in preventing primarily
residential burglary and other neighborhood-related
crimes. In harmony with the philosophy of Community
Policing, Neighborhood Watch encourages strong working
relationships between the police and the citizens.
Neighborhood
Watch programs are known to instill a greater sense of
security and well-being. They can also reduce the fear
of crime in the community as well as create a greater
"sense of community" and put the "neighbor" back into
"neighborhood." Neighborhood Watch also brings law
enforcement and the community together as a team to help
reduce crime opportunities.
Neighborhood Watch is a program that: 1) Teaches
citizens how to reduce the risk of victimization at home
and away; 2) Trains citizens on the importance of
recognizing suspicious activities and how to report
them; 3) Teaches residents how to make their homes more
secure; 4) Allows neighbors to get to know each other so
that any out-of-place activity can be reported promptly;
and 5) Creates a cohesive body of concerned citizens
that can address other issues that concern the entire
community.
While a Neighborhood Watch program is normally thought
of as being most effective in high-crime areas, it can
also be used as a vehicle to enhance a neighborhood that
is not experiencing problems.
All that is needed to start a Neighborhood Watch group
is a person who is willing to act as a "captain". This
person (with the help of the police department) would
distribute invitations to the homes in a designated area
and assist in hosting a Neighborhood Watch meeting. At
the meeting, a representative from the police department
would address the group regarding issues such as
suspicious situations, when/how to call the police, and
residential security. If a sufficient number of homes
are represented, Neighborhood Watch signs are installed
in the neighborhood.
Anyone interested in starting a Neighborhood Watch group
should call the Spring Grove Police Department at (815)
675-2596.
