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Community Watch
Organization |
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What is It? |
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Community Watch
Organizations -- formally known as Crime Watch Groups --
were
developed to encourage citizen involvement and deter crime by
early detection. Citizens volunteer to become extra eyes for the
police department, reporting crime and suspicious behavior.
Citizens learn to anticipate, recognize, and appraise the crime
risks in their neighborhoods, and how to take action that removes
or reduces those risks. |
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How Do I Start a Community Watch Organization? |
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An individual
group's success depends on the quality of its communication with
members and the Police Department.
First, talk
with your neighbors about the need for such a group, based on
personal knowledge of crime or suspicious activity in your area.
(You can use the Crime Statistics link
at left to obtain more information on crime in your
neighborhood.)
Then, set a time and place for your neighbors
to meet and discuss topics of mutual interest. (The meeting can be
held somewhere outside of your
neighborhood.)
Next,
invite Police Department employees to present
information on crime detection and prevention.
Choose
coordinators and block captains, who are responsible for
organizing meetings and passing information on to members.
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How Can Neighbors Help?
Neighbors can report unusual activities such as:
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Someone screaming or shouting for help;
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Someone looking into
residential or parked vehicle windows;
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Unusual noises;
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Property being taken out of closed businesses or houses
where no one is home;
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Cars, vans or trucks moving slowly with no apparent
destination, or without lights after dusk;
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A
stranger sitting in a car or stopping to talk to a child;
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Anyone being forced into a vehicle;
or
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Abandoned vehicles.
A Community Watch Organization is a proven crime reduction
program; but like any self-help activity, its success depends
upon you and your neighbors. To organize a Community Watch
Organization, call the Arlington Police Department Community
Services Office at 817-459-5725.
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Click here to download the Community Watch Application
(.pdf)
Click here to download the Community Watch Manual (.pdf ~
1 meg)
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August 2008 |
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