5 Tips For Creating a Neighborhood Watch Program

Over the course of my real estate career, I have been asked from time to time about how to go about setting up a neighborhood watch program. I believe this is always a great idea – from strengthening the security and well-being in one’s community to helping to foster pride and commitment in that community. If your neighborhood doesn’t have a watch program, how do you set one up? Well, there are five ways to form the most effective neighborhood watch program.

1. Recruit help.
Go door-to-door in the neighborhood and find out what others have experienced regarding crime and who may be concerned and interested in helping to establish a watch group. Take notes of names and contact info for people willing to assist. Start an email chain to coordinate meetings.

2. Talk to the local police.
See if they can offer any advice or training techniques. Try to get them to speak at a meeting to discuss tactics with prospective neighborhood watch members. They can bring a lot of insight to your initial meeting as well as cultivate a motivation for others to act. Don’t stop there. Build a presence with local council members; this can really impact the community’s outlook.

3. Establish leaders.
At the initial meeting, create captains or block leaders. These members will have larger roles in the neighborhood watch, including assisting in the organization of meetings, communicating info to members and the community, and acting as spokespersons for the group as well as liaisons with the police.

4. Make materials available.
Create a blog with regularly updated posts (such as safety tips, home security ideas, etc.), printable fliers, and regular newsletters to remind all about the neighborhood watch’s mission and to help keep everyone focused and active. Make sure residents know the procedure for reporting a crime, how to communicate various matters to whom, how to find their leaders, when upcoming meetings are, etc.

5. Assign responsibilities.
From the initial neighborhood watch meeting, take commitments from residents attending. Don’t pressure anyone, but encourage those who really want to see the program succeed.

If you have any neighborhood watch tips you’d like to add to this post, please leave them in the comments below. And if you’re thinking about buying or selling your next home in metro Albuquerque, contact me today!