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Neighborhood Watch|
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Be Persistent!
Typically, Neighborhood Watch
groups organize to respond to
an immediate threat-a series
of rapes, a sharp increase in
burglaries, rising fear of street
crime. Often, when the crisis is
resolved, membership and commitment
to the Watch start to
fade away. After all, why keep
out for criminals if
they've been arrested or gone
elsewhere?
This short-sighted attitude ignores key benefits of the contemporary Neighborhood Watch:
- Watch group empowers
people to prevent crime, forges
bonds between law enforcement
and the communities they serve,
and builds a foundation for
broader community improvement. - Neighborhood Watch is far more than a quick for an immediate crisis-it can be a moving force for positive changes that tackle root causes of crime.
Organize Formally
- Spell out roles and responsibilities of the association and its members. Adopt bylaws and elect officers.
- Decentralize planning and work. Delegate tasks and establish standing committees.
- Keep in touch with members. Use personal contacts, in and outside of meetings. Distribute a newsletter to communicate regularly with members.
- Plan for and train new leaders. Don't bum out existing ones.
- Mobilize collective resources and use them. Know members' skills and personal and business contacts. Be realistic about how many people you need to do a job.
- Use outside resources, such as government agencies and community-based organizations.
- Strike a balance between business and pleasure. Conduct business meetings on time and but have a time for socializing before or after the meeting.
- Involve all elements in the community-single parents, renters as well as home owners, teenagers, senior citizens, business owners and managers.
Extending the Scope of Neighborhood Watch
Successful Neighborhood
Watches move beyond the
basics of home security,watching
out for suspicious activities,
and reporting them to law
enforcement. They sponsor
community cleanups, find solutions
to local traffic problems,
collect clothing and toys for
homeless families, organize
after-school activities for young
people, help victims of crime,
tutor teens at risk of dropping
out of school, reclaim playgrounds
from drug dealers, and
for task forces that influence
policymakers. They can even
start a safe house program for
children or Block parent program,
which are reliable sources
of help for children in emergency
or other frightening situations.
After a number of natural disasters in the Midwest, Neighborhood Watch Groups there have designed Family Emergency Preparedness plans. The scope of Neighborhood Watch continues to grow, however its fundamental mission still remains -people are helping people.
When Your Neighborhood is Multicultural
The Clarksville area has experienced a dramatic increase in cultural and ethnic diversity in the last 50 years. In the United States, An estimated 19.7million persons-just under 8 percent of the population- were foreign-born. Never before have so many immigrants lived in this country. This wave of immigration has spread unevenly throughout the nation, with the Northeast and West experiencing far greater increases in foreign-born residents than the Midwest and South.
Organizing a Neighborhood Watch in a multicultural community poses unique challenges. Recent immigrants may not speak English, and many may still be adjusting to life in this country. Disputes or misunderstandings can erupt between neighbors of different cultures, races, and ethnic backgrounds. Cultural conflicts arise because two groups of people have established different values, different standards of acceptable behavior, different traditions and communication patterns, and different ideas about such things as dress and attitude.
Consider the Differences
Often, the hardest thing for everyone to learn is that different does not always equal wrong or improper. When with individuals raised in different cultures, you need to consider such things as:
- Their length of time in the United States.
- English or other language
- Possible distrust of law enforcement, stemming from a fear of people in uniform and in government offices based on experiences in their native country.
- Educational level and social class (especially the social class in the native country for immigrants and first-generation residents).
- Role expectations for males and females, parents, grandparents, and children.
- Religious and ethical values.
- Rules and expectations for interpersonal relationships.
- Ways to share and get to know cultural differences:
- Host international: potluck suppers: youth performances; musicals, and oral histories by elders.
WHen you Start to Organize:
Determine the ethnic groups of
non-English residents
and what language they speak. Then look to local government
agencies, private advocacy and
service organizations, religious
institutions, mediation services,
and other groups experienced in
dealing with immigrants for
help. A translator is essential
when you hold a Neighborhood
Watch or crime prevention
meeting. Learn to speak slowly
and to establish rapport with
the translator. Print materials
in different languages if possible.
Don't be discouraged. In about his efforts to organize Neighborhood Watch presentations in ethnically diverse California, crime prevention officer David Huckaby says, "It's tough, but Asians- Cambodians, Lao, and Hmong -and Hispanics are very interested in crime prevention information."
Act now!
To start a neighborhood in your neighborhood, contact Captain Knight with Community policing to establish a local watch program: 931-552-2664
For more information:
(Courtesy of the National National Crime Prevention Council)
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