Neighborhood Watch

[oli700]

Well after getting to get to know some of my neighbors and letting them know about the theft of my pistol and that the police who took my report said that there is a problem with thieves targeting cars in my area I was approached by a retired military man that lives on the corner about being a captain. To preface a little actually knocked on his door to let him know the back window to his car was down and we got to talking and he said he had been involved in a neighborhood watch where he came from and we agreed it would be a good thing because we live close to a school and there are little kids everywhere for one and we don’t want our neighborhood to be an easy target. Well he organized it and he is to the point of recruiting captains and I accepted, so we will see how it goes I am actually looking forward to it, it high time for this here.

Anyone done this ? Advice?

 

[MikeD]

Several of us on our street kind of look out for each other but we have nothing organized.

My neighbow across the street was the one that saw a guy break nto the house next to me a month or so back and called the police. It happened in the daylight on a sunday afternoon. People are bold.

One thing I would recommend after following this Treyvon Martin thing in Fl, invest in a good voice recorder and/or a pocket camera.

 

[NCLawman]

Congratulations Oli on starting a Neighborhood Watch, but I am sory for the theft of your pistol.

Contact your local Ploice Department and talk with the Community Policing Supervisor. They will help you with establishing a meeting area, attend your meetings if you like and act as a point of contact for you to the department. They can sometimes provide training and crime prevention tips. All you should need is a good flashlight and a cell phone and some friends to join in! FYI: Retired people are great to have on your team, they can take the day shift!

Start out by reporting street lights that are out to your city/county. Report code enforcement violations (overgrown yards, junk vehicles, and delapitated / abandoned houses). You may want to look up CPTED -Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design- Encourage the neighbors to lock up at night and leave their front and back porch lights on at night. But the most important part is to talk with your neighbors and get to know them, because the whole point is that you are looking out for them and they are looking out for you.

Best of luck to you.

"All that is necessary for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing." -Edmund Burke

 

[John A.]

Like MikeD, the close neighbors I have, we try to look out for each other.

There are several empty houses within rock throwing distance of me, and break ins are a real concern. Thankfully, it hasn't happened yet but I feel it is just a matter of time before the wrong people figure out the upper end of the neighborhood is mostly empty.

 

[oli700]

Thanks for the advice guys! I’ll give updates if anything good comes about it…..or bad.

Yeah Lawman, I left my truck door unlocked…..so yeah stupid ass but I grew up in a place where you left your car running when you went into the general store, couldn’t believe it when I went out the next morning. I chalk it up as a lesson learned and every now and then as a type A I need a humbling experience remind me not to be complacent. Really though when I started approaching neighbors about the gun theft, like the officer advised, I noticed all the little kids that there were around me. First its cars , than houses….and so on .This needs to be a good spot for the kids and the rest of us for that matter.

 

[NCLawman]

Please give us updates, along with any "Dos" and "Don'ts", because they will be helpful to everyone here that may be considering organizing one. Start out slow and try to pace yourself that way peolpe don't look at you as "That strange guy on Maple St."

John A. The Code Enforcement or Zoning department of your local government can help with the vacant or neglected property.

"Slow is smooth, smooth is fast." -Unknown

 

[John A.]

The people who own the 3 houses, 2 of them keep their yard mowed and return on a regular basis but don't reside there anymore. The one behind me is there every day or two checking the mail and keeping the yard mowed, the one beside me does pretty much the same.

The house in front of me is occupied and the one beside of it, is their old homestead and they all live in other states and the only time you see them is during major holidays when they have family reunions and such.

They often hire someone to mow the grass once a month or so, but this year it's only been mowed once and that was Easter when the family was there.

I don't think we have any type of code enforcement here. Kinda glad we dont' actually because I don't want nobody telling me how to take care of my affairs. When to mow my grass, or anything else.

Even if we did have a code enforcement, I wouldn't involve them. I have one neighbor who thinks he's the governor of the whole neighborhood. I don't want to be that guy. He and I dont' exchange too many waves and smiles.

 

[mingaa]

Grats oli - recent press could easily cause a backlash against people wanting to be associated with neighborhood watch at all. When people self-censor their actions one never knows the damage / change that has occurred - it is invisible, an unrecorded non-action. Zimmerman made one (or more) key error in disregarding the request of the police for him not to continue and not to engage. IMHO neighborhood watch is effective when it is common knowledge that the area actively participates. Members should have a buddy system - go to cell numbers of other participants. They should know each other's vehicles (help to realize who is home and available) - 2,3 or more witnesses are better than my word against a BG. Instant 911 calls, act as good a witnesses (there are guidelines - I'm sure that you know better than me!), use sound, photo and video capability ASAP. Attend appropriate meetings (alderman, county, neighborhood assn. etc) report to be on record - inform the sheeples what is going on if necessary. My block is mixed owners and rentals. There is a core group of owners that care and keep an eye on the block. Recently 3 of us agreed to tighten up procedures but have yet to meet. Seeing your action and writing this will get me out of my chair and organize that - even if it is to confirm that our system is adequate and already in place. Do you all know this database? https://www.crimereports.com/ of course it is only reported crimes but it is an effective, searchable database including sex offenders (with photos) dates and details of each crime. I live on a quiet block in the city. I want it to stay that way. The street T-bones into a one way so no one comes down it unless they know where they are going, live here or are trying to turn around. It's about as low traffic as you can get without being a cul-de-sac. Okay - time to get off the soap box!

 

[oli700]

I am enjoying everyone’s feed back. I can see how it would turn bad. Especially if the suspicious people turned violent……and I got a couple older guys with me that might not be up for a self defensive rumble. I don’t want to shoot anyone, I would much rather throw down, scrap and live to fight another day , but I have concerns about being out numbered. There isn’t one I have seen that I couldn’t take alone but even 6 mangy dogs can kill a lion , you know ? Not to mention they are stealing guns and are trading them for drugs that turn them stupid and falsely brave………Even with all the crap in the news I am considering carrying, I do all the time anyway , if I am responsible I don’t see why this should be an exception. Open carry is the norm in my part of the state……..IDK undecided but some of the folks that would be on patrols are the very folks I worry might need protecting from disrespectful punks…….