Neighborhood Watch is the cornerstone of all crime prevention programs. It enlists the active participation of citizens in cooperation with law enforcement to reduce burglaries and other neighborhood crimes. Its primary purpose is the protection of life and property — yours and your neighbors. It is a proven and effective means to substantially reduce not only the incidence of residential burglaries in a specified geographical area, but the incidence of other crimes.
This program teaches you the steps that can be taken to help protect your home. It also helps you organize a neighborhood group and start making crime prevention a part of everyone’s daily routine.
Why start a Neighborhood Watch?
The Neighborhood Watch program will help deter crime in the neighborhood you live in. The “job” of a citizen in a Neighborhood Watch area is to be alert and to report any suspicious activity to the police. It is the responsibility of the police to apprehend the criminals.
Get as many neighbors involved as possible. Not everyone will want to be part of the program and that’s okay. Make sure they know about the Neighborhood Watch program and that they are always welcome to come to the get-togethers. Make sure they know about all your events.
Make the meetings as convenient as possible. The first meeting can be held at the City of Arnold Conference Center located behind the Police Department/City Hall. Our Conference Center is over 1,500 sq. ft, equipped with 3 flat screen TVs, tables, chairs, and bathrooms.
Schedule a Neighborhood Watch meeting or a neighborhood event whenever it is good for your neighbors! Make it hard for them to give you an excuse not to be there. Evenings are good, beginning around 6:00/7:00 p.m. It allows everyone to get home, eat something and those with children can spend some time with them.
What are the responsibilities of a Neighborhood Watch representative?
The Neighborhood Watch representative will be responsible for holding two meetings or activities per calendar year. Appropriate effort needs to be applied into have the majority of residence attend the meetings. Neighborhood watch is a program that thrives on the efforts by the community. The more residences involved, the better the program will be.
A Neighborhood Watch representative is very important to the success of the program! Their involvement and enthusiasm will get the other neighbors involved. The Neighborhood Watch representative arranges the meetings or events. Two are required per calendar year. Don’t let it scare you! It will take less time than you think.
The Arnold Police Department Public Relations Training Officer will need to attend one of your first two meetings to introduce the program to everyone. Please call at least 3 weeks in advance to schedule a meeting.
Some of the topics covered in the presentation are:
General Safety Tips
- Reporting Crime
- Home and Vehicle Safety
Last Resort Option
- Self Defense
- High Stress Situations
- Active Killer
Neighborhood Watch Program
- Creating an Alert Neighborhood
If there are specific problems in your area that you would like addressed (i.e., vehicle burglaries, criminal damage), be sure to let your Arnold Police Department representative know so those issues can be addressed.
An important part of the Neighborhood Watch program is to establish a way of communication between property owners. The Neighborhood Watch representative could accomplish this goal via social media websites, phone applications, phone numbers, email, etc. This way real time incidents could be shared throughout the neighborhood.
Subsequent meetings just need to be some kind of get-together (i.e., a potluck, holiday party). The purpose of these meetings is for the neighbors to get to know each other. We do not need to attend your subsequent meetings unless you would like us to address issues that are going on in your neighborhood, to speak on a particular topic, or if you would like a refresher on the program for new neighbors that have moved into your area.
The Neighborhood Watch representative is also responsible for the required paperwork. Attendance sheets (hard copy or the online form) from each event/meeting you have need to be turned in to your Arnold Police Department representative to receive credit and ensure active participation.
Any Neighborhood Watch group that does not have the two required meetings per year will not be considered “active” and will have their Neighborhood Watch removed from the program.
The Neighborhood Watch representative is also the liaison between the police department and their neighbors. The police department communicates with the Neighborhood Watch representative, in turn, they disseminate the information to their neighbors. If there are questions or concerns conveyed during an event, the Neighborhood Watch representative can call their Arnold Police Department representative for clarification and answers.
How to Plan Your Meetings and Make Them Successful
Make the date as convenient as possible for the majority of the people. Send out invitations or flyers at least 2 weeks in advance. You will probably never get everyone at one meeting. That’s okay. Take a quick survey of your neighbors to see which night and time are best for them. They are the ones who make the program successful. Be sure to have everyone there sign the attendance sheet so you get credit for the meeting.
For questions &/or concerns about the Arnold Police Neighborhood Watch Program contact:
Officer Joshua Lambrich DSN 135
Public Relations Training Officer
Arnold Police Department
2101 Jeffco Blvd.
Arnold, MO 63010
Office Phone: (636) 282-6610
