organizing a neighborhood CRIME WATCH

Normally, a neighborhood Crime Watch is born when one resident becomes fed up with crime or drugs in the neighborhood and decides to do something about it. By default, he/she becomes the Neighborhood Chairperson - at east temporarily.

But, they cannot do it alone. A neighborhood should embrace an area of at least three blocks (or reach to a natural boundary - such as a canal or shopping center), The chairperson's first task is to get some help.

CCW's recognize that the police cannot be everywhere at once - and the criminal is not going to make his/her move while a police car is on the block. Because the residents know their neighborhood best, they are better able to spot strangers whoa re acting suspiciously, or situations that "just don't look right".

They need to locate and recruit one person per block to act as a a Block Captain. Or, if they are organizing an apartment building, locate persons to serve as Building or Floor Chairperson.

These chairpersons have one principal task - to inform people on their block (or floor) that a Neighborhood Crime Watch is being formed and to extend to them an invitation to join. The invitation is a form, which describes what Citizen's Crime Watch does, and gives the recipient the opportunity to participate.

The Chairperson will schedule a meeting for your group with a Citizen's Crime Watch representative and a police officer. The meeting will last about 1 hour and 30  minutes and will focus on protective techniques in crime prevention.