How to Start a Neighborhood Watch Program
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Posted On :
Feb-05-2010
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Article Word Count :
636
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Starting a neighborhood watch program is an effective, proactive way to fight crime and protect your home, family, and possessions. Neighbors who join forces to monitor activity in their area typically experience a lower rate of crime and a higher instance of convictions when crimes do occur.
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Starting a neighborhood watch program is an effective, proactive way to fight crime and protect your home, family, and possessions. Neighbors who join forces to monitor activity in their area typically experience a lower rate of crime and a higher instance of convictions when crimes do occur. By working together with police and other law enforcement officials, communities with neighborhood watch programs create a safer, more closely-knit place to live for families in their area. Starting a new watch program is easier than you may think; police departments often have programs in place to help communities institute such programs more easily.
The first step is to determine the area your neighborhood watch group will be responsible for. Subdivisions, city blocks, and apartment complexes can be used as natural delineations for a watch group; typically, no more than twenty to thirty homes should be involved to begin with.
Once you’ve decided on the area to be covered by your new watch group, you should contact your local police department. Generally, the police department will assign a crime prevention officer to serve as a liaison to your group; this officer will help you organize your neighborhood watch, advise you on the best methods and practices for meetings and activities, and take any reports generated by your neighborhood watch program once it is in place. The officer will also help you gather crime statistics and research, and may adjust the size of your proposed neighborhood watch area if it is too small or too large to be effective.
Your crime prevention officer may provide you with a list of homeowners in your proposed watch area; otherwise, you may have to go door-to-door or distribute flyers throughout the area in question. Personal contact is usually the best; by meeting your neighbors directly, you can explain the benefits and purposes of a neighborhood watch and attract more participants. Once your neighborhood watch has attracted a few members, you’ll be surprised at how word-of-mouth can help your small group grow. Registering with the national database for neighborhood watch programs can also give your group more exposure and provide an additional level of publicity that can attract new members.
After you have signed up a number of members, it’s time to plan the first meeting; it can be located at a nearby school, church, community center, or simply in your own home, depending on your preference and available facilities. Members should be invited personally, but general announcements can be placed in local grocery stores, church bulletin boards, and as flyers distributed throughout the neighborhood. Make sure your crime prevention officer will be in attendance at this first meeting; he or she can give valuable information and advice that will help your neighborhood watch group fulfill its purpose.
Typically, neighborhood watch groups have a coordinator (if you started the group, that would be you), a block captain who is responsible for distributing information to watch members, and the members who are the eyes and ears of the organization on a day-to-day basis. All of these individuals report unusual activity to the crime prevention officer at the police department for action and advice. Regular meetings can help keep watch groups on task and on target, and ensure that contact information is kept current and accurate.
Once your neighborhood watch program is established, you’ll want to post signs warning criminals that this neighborhood is protected and monitored. Additionally, scheduling regular meetings can help to educate members on activities to watch for and how to spot suspicious behavior. Guest speakers can even give tips on how to burglar-proof your home and improve security community-wide. Starting a neighborhood watch program can be intimidating, but the rewards are significant not only to you, but to your neighbors and the community as a whole.
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Article Source :
http://www.articleseen.com/Article_How to Start a Neighborhood Watch Program_10303.aspx
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Author Resource :
Joe Cline writes articles for Austin Texas realtor. Other articles written by the author related to Round rock realtor and Austin homes can be found on the net.
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Keywords :
Austin Texas realtor, Round rock realtor, Austin homes,
Category :
Home and Family
:
Home Improvement
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