August is Neighborhood Watch Month

A neighborhood watch is an organized group of citizens devoted to crime and vandalism prevention within a neighborhood. In the United States it builds on the concept of a town watch from Colonial America.

 

A neighborhood watch may be organized as its own group or may simply be a function of a neighborhood association or other community association.

 

Neighborhood watches are not vigilante organizations. When suspecting criminal activities, members are encouraged to contact authorities and not to intervene.

 

The current American system of neighborhood watches began developing in the late 1960s as a response to the rape and murder of Kitty Genovese in Queens, New York. People became outraged after reports that a dozen witnesses did nothing to save Genovese or to apprehend her killer. Some locals formed groups to watch over their neighborhoods and to look out for any suspicious activity in their areas. Shortly thereafter, the National Sheriffs' Association began a concerted effort in 1972 to revitalize the "watch group" effort nationwide.

 

There are a variety of ways a community can develop and institute a neighborhood watch. This includes the use of their Citizens Police Academy. The Citizens Police Academy allows a law enforcement agency to develop relationships within their community of business members, residents and community leaders. Once these people have been trained they can intern be developed into Volunteers. The next evolution of this is the Volunteers in Policing program backed by the Department of Homeland Security.

 

The VIPS Program provides support and resources for agencies interested in developing or enhancing a volunteer program and for citizens who wish to volunteer their time and skills with a community law enforcement agency. The program’s ultimate goal is to enhance the capacity of state and local law enforcement to utilize volunteers.

 

Through this program, the VIPS staff seeks to:

• learn about promising practices being used in existing VIPS programs and share this information with law enforcement agencies that want to expand their programs,
• increase the use of volunteers in existing programs,
• help citizens learn about and become involved in VIPS programs in their communities, and
• help agencies without volunteer programs get them started.

If you are looking to volunteer for a program or want to get involved go to this website and find a group in your area. http://www.policevolunteers.org/