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Neighborhood Watch

Neighborhood Watch

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH is one of the most effective and least costly ways to prevent crime. NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH forges bonds among area residents. It helps reduce neighborhood crimes and creates a partnership between law enforcement and the community. NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH fights the isolation that crime both creates and feeds upon. Neighbors working together in cooperation with law enforcement makes the best crime fighting team around!
Any community resident can join a Neighborhood Watch; young or old, single or married, renter or homeowner. Members can learn how to make their homes more secure, watch out for each other and the neighborhood, and report suspicious activities to the Police Department. You can form a Neighborhood Watch group for any area: a street, mobile home park, apartment complex, marina, community recreation center, or park.

Neighborhood Watch groups are not vigilantes. They are extra eyes and ears for reporting crime and helping neighbors. Neighborhood Watch builds pride and serves as a springboard for efforts that address community needs. Citizen involvement is essential to combat this social crisis.

Starting a Neighborhood Watch

  • Contact the Police Department for assistance in training residents in home security and reporting crime.
  • Select a block captain who will be responsible for organizing meetings and relaying information to group members.
  • Encourage participation and commitment among residents and neighbors. Make a special effort to involve the elderly.
  • If you are interested in becoming a block captain, call the Police Department's Community Division Unit for additional information.

Suspicious Activities to Look For...

  • Someone screaming or shouting for help, or being forced into a vehicle
  • Someone looking into windows or parked cars
  • Property being taken out of closed businesses or houses where no one is at home
  • Vehicles cruising aimlessly
  • Someone spraying graffiti on buildings
  • Strangers sitting in a car, stopping to talk to kids
  • Abandoned vehicles, suspicious people, unusual noises
  • A sudden change in a neighbor's routine: newspapers piling up; drapes drawn; mailbox overflowing with mail, etc.

For more information or for assistance in starting a Neighborhood Watch program in your neighborhood, please contact Officer Ben Walton at (847) 546-9704 ext 334 or email.