Neighborhood Watch means:
People using proven
crime prevention techniques like Operation I.D., "target
hardening," and others.
How does
Neighborhood Watch work?
You and your neighbors are the ones who are in a position to
really know what goes on in your neighborhood. Ask yourself:
Would a deputy sheriff recognize a stranger in your yard or a
suspicious vehicle in your driveway? Maybe not. But your
neighbors probably would!.
And that's
what
Neighborhood Watch is all
about.
Organizing the eyes and ears of an entire neighborhood into a
powerful, hard to penetrate, 24 hour-a-day barrier... protecting
neighborhoods from crime.
And it Works!
Why? In cooperation with each other and local law enforcement
agencies, members of an organized
Neighborhood Watch
group learn how to fight crime the most effective way--before it
occurs!
Neighborhood Watch
helps members to...
Improve the security of their homes, families, and personal
belongings.
Recognize suspicious and unusual activity in their neighborhood.
Build a communications network that works to protect their
neighborhoods.
Gain a feeling of genuine security through their ability to
actually deter crime.
Is
Neighborhood Watch Really
Effective?
You bet it is! The reason is simple enough:
Desire...Opportunity...Ability
Criminals must have all three if they are to be successful.
Neighborhood Watch groups
DENY criminals the OPPORTUNITY
and ABILITY they need by reducing the criminal
the chance to operate undetected.
All across the United States, wherever
Neighborhood Watch groups
are active, the reduction of crime has been substantial.. even
dramatic!
Starting a
Neighborhood Watch Group
is Easy
First, get organized. Contact the
Crime Prevention Unit of
the
Rockingham County Sheriff's Office
at
564-3800.
We'll help you get a Group started in your neighborhood.
Then, arrange a date, time and place for your first meeting. One
of our crime prevention officers will be on hand to present the
program to your group.
The officer will explain the
Neighborhood Watch
concept, talk about effective crime
prevention techniques, and explain what it takes to make a Watch
group really effective.
What's
Expected of a
Neighborhood Watch Member
-
Develop a
watchful, concerned attitude. Be aware of what's going on in
your neighborhood.
-
Report suspicious
persons, vehicles and activities to the police immediately.
-
Let someone in
the Group know when your home will be unoccupied, and watch
your neighbor's home when they are away.
-
Participate in
Operation I.D. and have an officer conduct a Security Survey
of your home.
Attend regular
meetings with other Watch group members.
And Remember...
Neighborhood Watch
doesn't require frequent meetings or a loss of privacy. It
doesn't ask that a group member take any personal risk. And,
Neighborhood Watch
leaves the responsibility for apprehending criminals where it
belongs... with law enforcement.
Neighborhood
Watch is in operation in
the following communities: Hensley
Hollow, Pleasant Valley, Mountain Valley area, Massanetta
Springs, Huckleberry Mountain area, Belmont Estates, Port
Republic Area, Keezletown, Penn Laird--Donnagail subdivision, SR
754--Elkton area, Foxcroft Estates, and
Singers Glen.
Call the
Rockingham County Sheriff's Office Crime Prevention Unit
at
564-3800, and
Take a Bite Out of Crime
in your neighborhood...
Join
Neighborhood Watch!