Every neighborhood should have a Neighborhood Watch : Heres how to start one. If you want to begin one, I can help. 639-0500 1. Develop Interest, Visit your neighbors and discuss the idea of working together in a partnership with the Fairfield Police Department to reduce crime in your neighborhood. 2. Determine Possible Meeting Dates-It should be a time that will work best for as many interested neighbors as possible. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. seem to work out best for most people. 3. Decide On A Meeting Location-The Neighborhood Watch meeting can be held in your home, a neighbors home, a school or church auditorium, library or community center. 4. Determine Who Will Serve As The Block Captain-Each Block Captain manages the group by maintaining the email list of the group and acts as a liaison to the group for the police department. Any communication from the police department’s Crime Prevention Unit, such as newsletters or crime bulletins would be routed through the Block Captain to the residents by email. The Block Captain also conducts successive meetings at agreed upon intervals (minimum one meeting per year). 5. Contact A Neighborhood Watch Coordinator-call 428-7789 to schedule the neighborhood watch meeting. Call and schedule your meeting at least 2 weeks prior to the meeting date to allow time to print and mail out the Neighborhood Watch meeting flyers to you. Once a date is scheduled and confirmed, the Neighborhood Watch Coordinator will mail the meeting flyers to you so you can distribute them to your neighbors. The flyer will invite your neighbors to attend the Neighborhood Watch meeting and will include the date, time, and location. 6. Distribute Meeting Flyers-It is best to contact the resident, introduce yourself in person, and hand them the flyer—rather than leaving it on the doorstep. Try to keep track of those who said they would attend. Smaller groups of residents can benefit from the program, but where possible, extend the group to include homes that seem to share visual surveillance opportunities, such as homes at the opening of a cul-de-sac, or directly behind homes in the group. 7. Develop A List Of People Who Will Attend-After distributing the meeting flyers (about a week before the meeting date), attempt to contact those who said they would attend a day or two before the meeting date as a reminder. During The First Meeting-A Crime Prevention Specialist and Police Officer (when availability allows) will attend. Neighbors will be encouraged to introduce themselves, share their names, address, phone number, and email address with immediate neighbors. After the initial meeting, the Crime Prevention Unit will type up copies of the group listings and include a neighborhood map for the Block Captain to distribute to each household represented at the meeting. We will also provide you with an order form for purchasing Neighborhood Watch signs. Groups stay actively involved in crime prevention on a neighborhood level through informal meetings that offer a chance to discuss neighborhood concerns.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 03:12:03 +0000
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