Neighborhood Watch

How to Join or Start a Neighborhood Watch

Any Community Member Can Join – young and old, single and married, renter and homeowner, as well as neighborhood businesses. Contact you local Sheriff’s office. If there is a Neighborhood Watch in your neighborhood, simply attend a meeting and sign up to volunteer.

To Start a Neighborhood Watch in your community, contact your local police department or sheriff’s office, and notify them of your interest to start a Neighborhood Watch. You will then be assigned a crime prevention officer who will attend your first meeting. It’s that simple.

Decide on a date and place for an initial Neighborhood Watch meeting. Invite neighbors and neighborhood business owners to discuss the needs of your community and potential problems. For more information, visit www.usaonwatch.org.

Register your Neighborhood Watch in the National Neighborhood Watch Database www.usaonwatch.org

Download Educational Materials Related to Starting a Neighborhood Watch

From USAonWatch (www.usaonwatch.org/resource/Neighborhood_Watch/publications.aspx):

Identity Theft Victim’s Reference Guide (www.state.nj.us/lps/njsp/tech/pdf/ident_theft_vrg.pdf)
Look and Listen
National Crime Prevention Council (www.ncpc.org/ncpc/ncpc/?pg=2088-6106)
Preventing Burglaries – How to Protect Your Home
Starting a Business Watch (www.usaonwatch.org/resource/Neighborhood_Watch/doc_bwbrochure.pdf)
Suspicious Mail

From the National Crime Prevention Council (www.ncpc.org):

Joining a Neighborhood Watch (www.ncpc.org/cms/cms-upload/ncpc/files/nwjoin.pdf)
Starting a Neighborhood Watch (www.ncpc.org/cms/cms-upload/ncpc/files/nwstart.pdf)
Neighborhood Watch Organizer’s Guide (www.ncpc.org/cms/cms-upload/ncpc/files/orgz.pdf)
Raise your Hand to Volunteer for a Safer Neighborhood (www.ncpc.org/ncpc/ncpc/?pg=2088-8562)
Stuff and Skills – An Inventory for the Neighborhood (www.ncpc.org/ncpc/ncpc/?pg=2088-8566)