What exactly is a Neighbourhood Watch?

A Neighbourhood Watch is a group of people working together to protect the neighbourhood. They agree to keep an eye out for suspicious people, reporting loiterers or those engaged in suspicious activities.

Neighbourhood Watches can also become involved in organizing community events related to crime and safety. This could be any variety of activities such as having a group meeting where you invite a police officer from the community to come in and talk about home security. It all depends on how active the people in your neighborhood want to be. Don't wait for somebody else to get things rolling. If you're willing to take the initiative, you'll probably find a lot of people interested in taking measures to keep their home and neighborhood safe.

Ways a Neighbourhood Watch Can Help:

Through your membership, you'll be able to keep abreast with what's going on in your area, including learning about crimes that occur near you.

A Neighbourhood Watch program will reward your participation by making your neighbourhood safer. It is statistically proven that Neighbourhood Watches are effective crime prevention tools.

A Neighbourhood Watch can be a little like a Condo Board or other housing community forum in that you can use the meetings to deal with community issues such as abandoned cars, noisy neighbors, and neglected yards that devalue the neighbourhood.

How to Get a Neighbourhood Watch Started

You can start a neighbourhood watch in any area, urban or rural. Contacting your local police station can let you know if there is already a Neighbourhood Watch in your area. If there's not, the police can get you started with kits and information. Then you'll want to talk to your neighbors and recruit participants. Make sure to get their names and phone numbers so you can contact them when it's time to schedule meetings. Good times for meetings are usually after dinner on Mondays through Thursdays.

 

Don’t wait for Crime to encroach your neighbourhood.

 

For further information about getting someone to help you organize a meeting in your area, phone our office at 780- 421 – 3428 or email us at watch@tera-byte.com,

we will be more than happy to help you.

We are located downtown in the Edmonton Police Headquarters.

 

Merv Swityk

Past President - ENW