Neighborhood Watches & Community Crime Prevention More Important Than Ever

While it's important to put in place a home security and safety plan for your house and your property, it's really worth considering your neighborhood as well.  Do you have a neighborhood watch in place and are the majority of homes and yards upkept well?

Various studies have shown that a well-maintained neighborhood and volunteer watch can actually go a lot further toward preventing crime than all the surveillance cameras and pit bulls you can adorn your property with.  And the need for community-involved crime prevention becomes even more important in a down economy when crime tends to go up.

As someone in the CNN article (link below) says, "Nowadays, you have so many people just walking around pretending, leaving fliers, doing marketing surveys or some such baloney. But what they really are doing is looking for opportunities, watching to see who is or isn't in their homes."

Burglars like to do their work when no one is around, so if there's usually someone paying attention to things in your neighborhood (and reporting suspicious activity) the word will get out that this isn't the easiest area to hit.

For more on starting a neighborhood watch or the effectiveness of them, check out the articles below:

CNN: Neighborhood Watches Are on the Front Line in a Bad Economy
How to Start a Neighborhood Watch in Your Community
Neighborhood Watches Can Be Effective Against Crime

Comments

[Amy Howard]

Having a neighborhood watch is a really good way to protect your home.

If you don't have a neighborhood watch in your area and it doesn't look like you can easily form one, then you may want to consider at least enlisting the help of your immediate neighbors.

Look out for each others properties. Neighbors make the best property watchers because they already know who belongs and who doesn't

Amy Howard

[aaron]

I think that neiborhood watches have made a huge difference where they have been implemented.

[jack]

Neighborhood watches are agreat way to send a message to the bad guys-'don't mess with us'. It is Free and your local sheriff can help you get it going.

Another idea are to use security cameras around your neighborhood.

[trevo]

Having neighborhood and making good relation with them can give you many benefits instead of using security devices

[locksmith in Maryland]

I totally agree that looking for a safe neighborhood is the primary factor should you want live safely.

[Home Security Products]

The best thing about the neighborhood watch program is-IT IS FREE.

[Ordis]

totally agree that looking for a safe neighborhood is the primary factor should you want live safely.

[Kevin]

I love the idea of the neighborhood watch, especially in urban areas. The problem with relying on this is that alot of people are distracted and focused on themselves these days that they don't even notice what's going on. A combination of a security camera and good relations with your neighbors seems like a good start.

[Fred]

A neighborhood watch in combination with security devices can make a neighborhood much safer than doing nothing at all. Dummy cameras with a flashing led light is an inexpensive way to secure your home.

[nahina]

Maintaining good neighborhood relationships can result in reciprocal property surveillance which helps everyone stay safer. Neighbors pass the message to you if they see any criminal activity on or by your property. This is very helpful in preventing crime.

[b]

Neighborhood watches are definitely the way to go. They give individuals a sense of responsibility and concern for their property. The "buy-in" is what motivates people to keep pressing for better neighborhood security.

[a]

By using wireless CCTV systems you can effectively prevent a lot of theft from both customers and employees. These cameras can be very covert and placed in a variety of places with no one knowing. You then can catch individuals in the act as well as recording for prosecution. This is a great and affordable way to stop losses for your company.

[ju;lie]

Neighborhood watches really scares burglars to enter the house.

Being vigilant is a way of saying to burglars that "Hey, I'm here and these are mine!"

Cheers

[Frank Jordan]

Neighborhood watch doesn't always work because the neighbors aren't always cooperative and are usually the cause of the problems. Sometimes they become irrational and violent if you approach them regarding a problem. BEWARE!

[GuardianSelfDefense]

Yes, criminals like easy targets. Awareness is the key to deterring crime and keeping your neighborhood safe. You can't do it alone, strength in numbers is why watch programs work so well.