How Do I Start a Community Watch Organization?

• First, talk with your neighbors about the need for such a group, based on personal knowledge of crime or suspicious activity in your area 
• Then, set a time and place for your neighbors to meet and discuss topics of mutual interest (The meeting can be held somewhere outside of your neighborhood) 
• Next, invite Police Department employees to present information on crime detection and prevention 
• Choose coordinators and block captains, who are responsible for organizing meetings and passing information on to members 
• Recruit others. Attendance is critical for the group's success, and at least 50% attendance is needed to qualify for posting community watch signs 

How Can Neighbors Help?

Neighbors can report unusual activities such as: 

• Someone screaming or shouting for help 
• Someone looking into residential or parked vehicle windows 
• Unusual noises 
• Property being taken out of closed businesses or houses where no one is home 
• Cars, vans or trucks moving slowly with no apparent destination, or without lights after dusk 
• A stranger sitting in a car or stopping to talk to a child 
• Anyone being forced into a vehicle 
• Abandoned vehicles 
• Narcotic sales 
• Suspicious activity