The Basics of Organizing a Neighborhood Watch
June 2, 2009 – 1:25 pm
Coordinating and implementing a neighborhood watch requires a group of dedicated individuals. However, consistently supervising your street can prevent crime and make it a safer place to raise your children.
To organize a successful neighborhood watch, you need the following:
- Parents and other willing volunteers to start the program;
- A meeting place (school, library, resident’s house, etc.);
- A meeting agenda to keep the program focused on priority issues; and
- A crime prevention officer to assist with training.
Before the First Meeting
Prior to the first group discussion, the leader needs to compile facts on the neighborhood. People in attendance will want to know about their community. For example, how much crime happens, what types of illegal activities occur and how other’s view the area. This information can come from your personal experience, but you should also back it up with credible facts from local newspapers and police reports.
In addition, you want to have a map of the community as well as a sign-up sheet on hand. This can make it easier to develop teams and a plan of attack for problem areas. Don’t forget to address any concerns that your children have too. Sometimes your teenagers know more about what is really going on.
Expanding Your Team
In any group work, it’s beneficial to have extra volunteers on hand for when others fail to show up or are no longer able to participate. Some ways to increase the number of volunteers include posting fliers, sending emails, displaying brochures in local businesses and informing the media or newspaper of your new program.
As your neighborhood watch continues to grow, a telephone tree should be created in case of emergencies. This will enable you to get a hold of extra participants if the back-up plan needs to go into effect.
Although these programs deal with serious issues, you can still make them enjoyable for adults and children. Scheduling lunch meetings at a restaurant or resident’s home might encourage a higher attendance, because it’s a more relaxed atmosphere. Also, guest speakers such as McGruff the Crime Dog for public events at the library or community center can encourage families to become involved. Lastly, you can build partnerships with other crime prevention groups in the area. Creating a digital neighborhood newsletter with these groups is a low cost way to increase awareness.
Neighborhood watches are a proud way to show your dedication to your community and residents. It can be interesting to track police reports over time and see if there has been a decrease in your neighborhood’s crime rate since the program’s inception.
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Tags: community crime, Crime Prevention, McGruff the Crime Dog, neighborhood watch, organizing a neighborhood watch