Enlisting a neighborhood watch is one of the most effective ways to combat crime within communities. Neighborhood watches bring together residents and law enforcement to help prevent criminal acts and provide a safer community for everyone. HOA management companies can conduct effective neighborhood watches to increase safety within their community and successfully deter crime. Here are some tips that the RealManage HOA management company offers for creating an effective neighborhood watch program.
Making Sure Your Neighborhood is Safe!
Combine with law enforcement. Working with the local police or sheriff’s office is crucial to establishing validity among the Watch group and providing the necessary safety information and training that is essential to the Watch’s effectiveness.
Hold meetings. Manage your neighborhood watch by holding regular meetings where the residents can get together, get to know each other, and develop strategies and programs that can help make the community a safer place.
Ask for “window watchers”. Window watchers can be anyone inside their home who are simply designated to look out their window and report any unusual activity or watch out for children in the neighborhood. Establishing eyes on all fronts of the program is great for maintaining an effective watch system.
Be aware of the facts about crime in the community. Update yourself on police reports, surveys, and statistics that can help the Watch team develop a solid and adapted plan for reducing the crime rate in the community.
Sponsor events and link up with other organizations. Spread the word about awareness and prevention through the community by sponsoring different events and activities such as a drug prevention program for young people. Get other organizations in the community involved. Getting together with other associations can open doors to different opportunities and provide your program with more options.
Recruit members. Have current members of the Watch team recruit members door-to-door, explaining the importance of a Watch group and asking as many people to get involved in whatever way they can.
Spread information. Offer programs that help and teach children ways to react in different emergencies. Coach fellow residents on the actions to take if they see any suspicious activity and who they should report it to.
Sponsor cleanup events. Get together groups to host cleanups around the neighborhood to get rid of physical appearances that can contribute to or hide crime. Encourage neighbors to keep their areas clean and to turn outdoor lights on at night to reduce the possibility of crime.
Most importantly, make sure your Watch group understands they should not assume the role of the police and that in emergency situations they should report to law enforcement. Ask residents to remain alert and observant, and to report any suspicious activity that may be going on immediately.
Mary Arnold, CMCA®, AMS®
Annette Byrd, CMCA®, PCAM®
Staff Writer
