WHAT
IS NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH?
It is
Neighborhoods organized to be the eyes and ears of the police.
Reporting suspicious activities and persons to the police
as soon as they are observed.
Neighborhood Watch is a great way citizens can work together
to prevent crime.
HOW
DOES NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH WORK?
It operates
to educate participants in the principles of deterrence, delay,
and detection. It depends on a communication network organized
with three levels:
the residents, block captains and co-captains, and the Crime
Prevention Officer. The major issue, however, is that you
report suspicious activities to the police.
HOW
TO ORGANIZE A NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH
1.
Contact the Indio Police Department's Office expressing your
desire to institute the Neighborhood Watch Program in your
neighborhood.
2.
Contact your neighbors and see if they want the program. In
order to be a certified Neighborhood Watch Program and qualify
for the street signs, you must have 60% participation. However,
if you don't get 60%, you can still qualify for the
Neighborhood Watch Program.
3.
If it is determined that you and your neighbors want the program,
the next step is to have the initial meeting with your Neighborhood
Watch Group. At this meeting you are to do the following things:
A.
Select a block captain and a co-captain.
B. Establish
a calling list with the names, addresses and phone numbers
of the people who will be participating in your Neighborhood
Watch.
C. Select a
time and date, with alternates, and a meeting place where
you would have your second Neighborhood Watch meeting. This
would be the first meeting with the Neighbors and the Neighborhood
Watch Team from the Indio Police Department's Office Crime
Prevention Unit.
4.
Contact the Indio Police Crime Prevention Officer to advise
them of the dates you have selected. From these dates available,the
Crime Prevention Officer will schedule that second meeting
with the Neighborhood Watch Team and your neighbors.
5.
Upon completion of the steps above, and meeting with the Indio
Police Department's Office Neighborhood Watch Team,the Neighborhood
Watch Program in your neighborhood is now off to a start.
It is the hope of this office that this Neighborhood Team
concept will assist us in the reduction or elimination of
crime involving households and businesses within the neighborhoods,
and in general will put your neighborhood on the road back
to a more secure community.
WHEN
TO CALL THE POLICE
No police
station can function effectively without the assistance of
responsible citizens. Some people fail to call the police
simply because they are not aware of what seemingly innocent
activities might be suspicious. Others may notice suspicious
activity and be hesitant to call for fear of seeming like
a "nosy neighbor" or a "crank". Still
others take for granted that someone else has already called.
Don't worry about being embarrassed if your suspicions prove
unfounded. Think instead about what could happen if you don't
act!
LET'S
KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR EACH OTHER!
For detailed
information and free downloadable start-up materials , such
as manuals, flyers, meeting brochures, click on the links
below:
•
National Crime Prevention Council
•
Safe State
• Neighborhood
Watch: Make It a Permanent Force for Community Betterment
[PDF Flyer]
For
extensive information about Neighborhood Watches, visit the
National
Crime Prevention Council ,and USA
on Watch, Web Sites!
To order neighborhood Watch signs, decals,
etc., you may purchase them online from the National
Neighborhood Watch Institute.
For
more local information - Please contact:
Ben
Guitron at (760) 391-4037
or email him at: bguitron@indiopd.org
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