Community Watch Tips

I just sent out this release for the Greensboro Community Watch and thought I’d also share it with you here.

Greensboro, NC (October 21, 2009) – As a wave of home break-ins continues to plague communities all across Greensboro, the Greensboro Community Watch is offering tips on how neighborhoods can strengthen their community watch programs as well as things homeowners can proactively do.

Community Watch Tips

• Make sure you have a community watch Captain and enough Block Captains to properly cover your neighborhood.
• Have quarterly (at a minimum) community watch meetings.
• Create a neighborhood email list-serve (Google or Yahoo Groups) and work towards getting every homeowner on the list. This provides neighbors with a quick and easy way to share information. When new neighbors move in make sure Block Captains introduce themselves and tell the new resident about the list-serve.
• If you do not have a community watch call 336-373-CITY (2489) to get information on how to start one.

“I can’t stress enough how important it is to have regularly scheduled community watch meetings, especially for neighborhoods that don’t have a list-serve,” said Ryan Shell, founder of the Greensboro Community Watch. “These meetings not only allow neighbors to get together and possibly meet new neighbors, but they also allow the Greensboro Police Department to come in and make folks aware of what’s happening in and around their neighborhood. Regular community watch meetings help keep the program top of mind and help reinforce the need to look out for one another.”

Resident Tips

• Know your neighbors. If you see someone in your neighborhood that doesn’t look familiar introduce yourself. By doing so, if the individual is up to no good they will realize that people pay attention in your neighborhood and think twice about their actions.
• Don’t leave things such as iPods or portable navigation units in your car – they are very popular items amongst thieves.
• Always keep your front and back porch light on at night.
• If you notice that a neighbor is out of town pick their newspaper up for them. When they accumulate at the end of a driveway it is a prime sign that the resident is not at home.
• If something seems wrong (your gut instinct is probably right) – call the police.

“A community watch is only as good as its members make it,” said Shell. “The trend that I have noticed is that people are active when there is crime, and lose interest when there isn’t any. We have to change that mindset. My hope is that we can raise awareness so the next time a neighborhood experiences wave of break-ins it won’t take several weeks to catch the ‘bad guys.’ The stronger we can make our communities the better off we will be.”

About the Greensboro Community Watch
The purpose of the Greensboro Community Watch (GCW) is to bridge the communication gaps between the various community watches around Greensboro and to proactively fight crime. The program has connected more than 120 neighborhoods in Greensboro.