Neighborhood Watch: How You Can Help Fight Crime In Your Neighborhood

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By SecurityPro

Crime Watch

We understand that the first line of defense in keeping your home safe, is having the best and strongest locks. But along with that, a neighborhood crime watch can help you to keep track of the criminal activity that might be going on in the area around your home.

Some great ways to do this is with alarms, locks and even dogs as the will discourage your intruder. They want to get in and get out without anyone seeing them or setting of alarms.

This doesn't stop well protected homes from being attacked though. However, a neighborhood crime watch is one way to cut down on the crime in your area. Now, break ins aren't the only thing that happens in neighborhoods either. You can be robbed in your driveway, or even while you are doing your morning jog down the street.

When you have a great group of people, you will find that they increase the security in your area. You should start with a well maintained group that remains organized and focused on crime in the area. In no time, you should see a decrease in the overall crime rates.

Together as a team, you will learn how to handle unusual or suspicious activity. This can be handled with email alerts and even exchanging information on things that do happen.

But how does a person start a Neighborhood Crime Watch?

The best method is to go to your local law enforcement agencies and ask who is responsible for helping to set one of these programs up. They will normally be excited about setting this program up with you and helping to reduce crime in your area.

With your neighbors and the police working together, both sides will win. Police will give you the information on how to contact them. In addition, they will add patrol in your area until you knock down the crime that is in your general area.

In some cases, these groups are created after a series of attacks and robberies occur in the general area. If this is true for your area, then there might be some concerns that come up.

You should understand that this information should be brought up with your local police. They will be able to give you a string of tips as well as showing you how to properly lock up your home. This is a great set of information that will include the garage door. Some minor changes can make a huge difference in the long run.

Communication is Key.

One of the biggest ways that these neighborhood crime watches help to reduce crime is by increasing the communication of neighbors. It is often done quickly by email and while you might have some that fear the process, others will embrace it. Just encourage everyone to report what they see, even if it they are wrong. It is best to be cautious rather than sorry in these events. Remember not every crime will be reported in the newspaper, so you will need to focus on other updates as well as important information when it comes to these suspicious occurrences.

If you are seeing a string of one particular crime, then focus on the reduction of issues with this activity. You should hold meetings and do your best to make process for this program. If you make a great reduction in crime, you might be allowed to post a Neighborhood Crime Watch sign in your area.

While everyone might have a series of goals to work towards, it might be best to focus on just one goal at a time, until you have successfully completed it. It might even be something as simple as being able to walk up the block safely.

For this process, you will need to designated members who will be outside during different days and times, or at a minimum watch from their windows. Many police officers will suggest that joggers and walkers carry an alarm to alert their neighbors if they are attacked. By being proactive, you can become stronger as a group and reduce the crime that happens in your area.

days leaper profile image

days leaper Level 1 Commenter 17 months ago

What if there are about two or three people you might trust in your area, no money to move, not mobile etc. And a crime syndicate suspected involving drugs, burglaries, intimidations etc.

What do you do?

SecurityPro profile image

SecurityPro Hub Author 17 months ago

If you believe that a crime syndicate is involved with the burglaries in your neighborhood then your best bet would be to contact your local law enforcement. If, however you are concerned about corrupt cops or retaliation from the gangs then your first step should be to secure your home by any means possible.

Look at your residential security as being similar to an onion in the sense that it must have layers.

When money is tight try some inexpensive techniques such as the chair under the door knob when you are asleep and things like that.

Simply leaving your porch lights on at night can reduce the probability that the thugs will hit your house. Criminals like to hide in the shadows. Motion detecting lights are a great way to spook the criminally inclined.

At the same time don't leave your porch light on during the day this can indicate that no one will be home until later that night.

Make sure that you never leave newspapers in your drive way. This is a sign that your possibly out of town for an extended period of time.

Place alarm signs in your yard real or not. These signs can persuade burglars to move along to a less protected house.

As far as the neighborhood watch program is concerned all of your neighbors that are not part of the syndicate have an incentive to clean up the streets. Whether it be for their children safety or just increasing the value of there investment. Therefore, start slowly and talk to any of the neighbors that you trust. Overtime maybe more people will join in and eventually you might run the criminals out of your area.

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