About the Program

The National Neighborhood Watch program, sponsored by the National Sheriff’s Association since 1972, unites law enforcement agencies, local organizations and individual citizens in a community-wide effort to reduce residential crime.

How the Program Prevents Crime

Here’s a community-based program that’s been proven to deter crime:

Thousands of these programs have been developed around the country, breaking down the isolation of neighbors as they work together and with law enforcement officers. It is a remarkably successful anticrime effort, as participants work together as a true community; a neighbor looking out for a neighbor.

• Any community resident can take part– young and old, single and married, renter and homeowner
• A few concerned residents, a community organization, or just one concerned citizen can spearhead the effort to organize a Neighborhood Watch
• Your neighborhood officer will help you get started
• Members learn how to make their homes more secure, watch out for each other and the neighborhood, and report suspicious activities to the police
• You can form a Neighborhood Watch group around any geographic unit: a block, apartment building, park, business area, or housing complex
• Watch groups are not vigilantes - they are extra eyes and ears for reporting crimes and helping neighbors