Neighborhood Watch Program
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The ABC's of Neighborhood Watch
- Any community resident can join - young or old, single or married, renter or homeowner.
- A few concerned residents or a community organization can spearhead the effort to organize a Neighborhood Watch.
- Participants learn how to make their homes more secure, watch out for each other and the neighborhood, and report activities that raise their suspicions to the Police Department.
- You can form a Neighborhood Watch group around any geographical unit: a block, apartment complex or business area.
- Watch groups are not vigilantes. They are extra eyes and ears for reporting crime and helping neighbors. Neighborhood Watch helps build pride and serves as a springboard for efforts that address community concerns such as beautification and disaster preparedness.
Join a Neighborhood Watch
Neighborhood Watch is one of the most effective and least expensive ways to prevent crime and reduce fear. Neighborhood Watch fights the isolation that crime both creates and feeds upon. It forges bonds among area residents, helps reduce burglaries and robberies, car prowls, and improves relations between law enforcement and the community they serve.
Getting Started
To form a Neighborhood Watch group, contact the Police Department's Neighborhood Watch Coordinator at (801) 799-3440. The Coordinator will provide you with a Neighborhood Watch guide that explains how to get your group started, including:
- Selection of a street or block Captain
- Establishing a phone tree for effective neighborhood communication
- Recruiting members and making special efforts to include the elderly, working parents and young people
- Identifying areas of concern that are specific to your neighborhood.
Staying Active
It's an unfortunate fact that when a neighborhood crime crisis goes away, so does the enthusiasm for Neighborhood Watch. The key to keeping a Neighborhood Watch group active is maintaining people's interest over a period of time.
- Organize regular meetings that focus on other issues such as recreational activities for children and emergency preparedness.
- Consider a neighborhood beautification project or participate in any activities that your group feels are important.
- Work within the Neighborhood Watch group to create a project safe passage program for the children in your neighborhood to help ensure their safety.
- Work with your group members and join our popular Mobile Neighborhood Watch program. This program provides volunteers with actual Police type training, which allows members to assist the community, and Police department.
- Don't forget social events that give neighbors a chance to get to know each other, host a block party, a potluck, picnic or any other activity that will keep your group active.
Doing Your Part
Report these incidents to the Police Department at (801) 799-3000 and talk about the problem with your neighbors.
- Someone screaming or shouting for help.
- Someone looking into windows and parked cars.
- Unusual noises.
- Property being taken out of closed businesses or houses where no one is at home.
- Cars, vans or trucks moving slowly with no apparent destination, or without lights.
- Anyone being forced into a vehicle.
- A stranger sitting in a car or stopping to talk to a child.
- Abandoned cars.
Reporting Crime
- Call the appropriate number, either 911 for emergencies or (801) 799-3000 for nonemergencies.
- Give your name and address.
- Briefly describe the event - what happened, when, where and who was involved.
- Describe the suspect's sex and race, age, height, weight, hair color, clothing, and distinctive characteristics such as a beard, mustache, scars, tattoos or accent.
- Describe the vehicle if one was involved: color, make, model, year, license plate, and special features such as stickers, dents or decals.
Important Phone Numbers
Keep these phone numbers near the phone.
- Emergency................................................911
- Police (non-emergency).............(801) 799-3000
- Drug Hotline.......................... (801) 799-DRUG
- Graffiti Removal.......................(801) 972-7885
- Neighborhood Watch.................(801) 799-3440ß
- Parking Enforcement.................(801) 535-6628