NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH CRIME PREVENTION

Neighborhood Watch - What Is It?

It is a crime prevention program enlisting the participation of citizens.
It is a network of neighbors trained to protect themselves and their property.
It teaches citizens techniques to reduce the risk of being victimized at home and in public.
It is "NEIGHBORS LOOKING OUT FOR EACH OTHER".
It allows neighbors to get to know each other and their routines so that any out of place activity can be reported and investigated.

What Is Needed To Have An Effective Neighborhood Watch?

A DESIRE from within a neighborhood to organize.
It has to come from the neighborhood
Promotion can plant the idea, but neighbors have to want to organize.
You and your neighbors are most familiar with what goes on in your neighborhood and are best prepared to recognize strangers and suspicious vehicles.

A Neighborhood Watch group can accomplish the following:

Crime awareness
Increased reporting of crime
Bring neighbors together
Build a rapport with the police
Give a warning to criminals
Neighbors watching out for each other to protect their property and well being.

To make this work, neighbors should share some of the following information with each other:

Work schedule of the family
Routine of the children
When the home will be vacant

Suspicious Activity

Not every stranger who comes into your neighborhood is a criminal. There are many perfectly legitimate door-to-door salesmen, repairmen, etc. who will be in your neighborhood.

You may want to check the identification of all solicitors, repairmen, etc. prior to them coming into your home.

Unusual activity that could result in a crime being committed should be promptly reported to the Mt. Horeb Police Department.

Examples of NOT SO OBVIOUS ACTIVITY to watch for are:

Someone going door-to-door
Someone carrying property ( at unusual times)
One or more juveniles walking casually through your neighborhood looking into vehicles, etc.
A person running with something in his/her arms - property or something of value
A person walking through back yards / looking into houses.
Vehicles moving slowly or parked in your neighborhood, schools, parks. This type of activity could be someone being a lookout for someone committing a crime or a drug pusher.
Beam from a flashlight in a neighbor's house.

Report of Suspicious Activity

When it becomes necessary to report suspicious activity, a good description of people and vehicles is important. Some key things to observe are:

People

Sex and age
Body build
Clothing
Anything distinctive

Vehicles

Body style and color
License number
Number of occupants and description
Anything distinctive

Calling the police

It is important that a prompt call be made to the police at the time the suspicious activity is observed.

On some occasions, people will wait hours or days before reporting an incident and then it is too late to prevent a crime from happening.

To report a crime or suspicious activity:

Law enforcement agency name

Phone number

Emergency 9-1-1

Local Information:

The Mount Horeb Police Dept.

437-5522

Emergency 911

Neighborhood nuisances

The following nuisance situations can be referred

-juvenile loitering

-drug activity

-traffic problems

-animal problems

-others

Home security

A few simple security devices and practices can make your home a difficult target for an intruder.

The following ideas are recommended:

-Dead bolt locks on external doors

-Security devices on patio doors

-Peepholes on external doors

-Security devices on windows

-Pruned shrubbery around house

-Outside lighting

-Property engraved for identification

-Keep your garage door closed and locked

-Others

The following are some helpful tips to help keep your neighborhood safe:

-Know your neighbors and what type of vehicles they drive.

-Be observant of what goes on around you

-Be aware of what is suspicious

-Always report anything that appears to be suspicious to your local law enforcement agency.

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