The Neighborhood Watch Program is a highly successful effort that has
been in existence for more than thirty years in cities and counties
across America. It provides a unique infrastructure that brings together
local officials, law enforcement, and citizens to protect our
communities.
For three decades, neighbors around the country, have banded together to
create Neighborhood Watch programs. They understand that the active
participation of neighborhood residents is a critical element in
community safety - not through vigilantism, but simply through a
willingness to look out for suspicious activity in their neighborhood,
and report that activity to law enforcement and to each other. In doing
so, residents take a major step toward reclaiming high-crime
neighborhoods, as well as making people throughout a community feel more
secure and less fearful.
In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, the need for strengthening and
securing our communities has become even more critical, and Neighborhood
Watch groups have taken on greater significance. In addition to serving
a crime prevention role, Neighborhood Watch can also be used as the
basis for bringing neighborhood residents together to focus on disaster
preparedness as well as terrorism awareness; to focus on evacuation
drills and exercises; and even to organize group training, such as the
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training.
Many neighborhoods already have established Neighborhood Watch programs
that are vibrant and effective. For those that do not, Citizen Corps and
the renewed emphasis on citizen preparedness may provide the incentive
for them to participate in this important community-based effort on
behalf of their friends and neighbors. And when you help your neighbors,
you help the nation.
Learn more by visiting the Neighborhood Watch home page and download Neighborhood Watch materials by clicking on Meet the Challenge!