Neighborhood Watch

The Loganville Police Department is dedicated to
ensuring the communities within the city limits are protected and safe. One of the ways this goal is accomplished
it through the Neighborhood Watch Program.
Neighborhood Watch is one of the oldest and most
effective crime prevention programs in the country, bringing citizens together with law enforcement to deter crime
and make communities safer.
Neighborhood Watch can trace its roots back to the days of colonial settlements, when
night watchmen patrolled the streets. The modern version of Neighborhood Watch was developed in response to
requests from sheriffs and police chiefs who were looking for a crime prevention program that would involve
citizens and address an increasing number of burglaries.
Launched in 1972, Neighborhood Watch counts on citizens to organize themselves and
work with law enforcement to keep a trained eye and ear on their communities, while demonstrating their presence at
all times of day and night. (The program took off quickly: in just ten years, NSA data showed that 12 percent of
the population was involved in a Neighborhood Watch.) Neighborhood Watch works because it reduces opportunities for
crime to occur; it doesn’t rely on altering or changing the criminal’s behavior or
motivation.
The Loganville Police Department currently
partners with fifteen communities utilizing the Neighborhood Watch Program:
Alexander
Crossing
Bay Creek Commons
Breckenridge
Huntington Ridge
Iris Glen
Ivy Creek
Ivy Ridge
Lake Hodges
Mockingbird Hill
Park Place
Pines at Tara
Southern
Plantation
Tara Commons
Tara Club Estates
Villages at
Tara
Tips for Making Your Program Successful
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Work with the police or sheriff’s office.
These agencies are critical to a Watch group’s credibility and are the source of necessary information and
training.
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Link up with your victims’ services office to
get your members trained in helping victims of crime.
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Hold regular meetings to help residents get
to know each other and to decide upon program strategies and
activities.
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Consider linking with an existing
organization, such as a citizens’ association, community development office, tenants’ association, or housing
authority. They may be able to provide an existing infrastructure you can
use.
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Canvass door-to-door to recruit
members.
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Ask people who seldom leave their homes to be
“window watchers,” looking out for children and reporting any unusual activities in the
neighborhood.
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Translate crime and drug prevention materials
into Spanish or other languages needed by non-English speakers in your community. If necessary, have a
translator at meetings.
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Sponsor a crime and drug prevention fair at a
church hall, temple, shopping mall, or community center.
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Gather the facts about crime in your
neighborhood. Check police reports, conduct victimization surveys, and learn residents’ perceptions about
crimes. Often, residents’ opinions are not supported by facts, and accurate information can reduce the fear of
crime.
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Physical conditions like abandoned cars or
overgrown vacant lots contribute to crime. Sponsor cleanups, encourage residents to beautify the area, and ask
them to turn on outdoor lights at night.
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Work with small businesses to repair rundown
storefronts, clean up littered streets, and create jobs for young
people.
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Start a block parent program to help children
cope with emergencies while walking to and from school or playing in the
area.
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Emphasize that Watch groups are not
vigilantes and should not assume the role of the police. Their duty is to ask neighbors to be alert, observant,
and caring—and to report suspicious activity or crimes immediately to the
police.
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