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WHAT IS NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH?

In one form or another, Neighborhood Watch has existed in America since the 17th century when night watchmen patrolled the streets of colonial settlements. Watchmen were, for the most part, ordinary citizens, and it was considered a man’s civic duty to serve in this capacity.
The modern-day concept of Neighborhood Watch originated in the late 1960s, at a time when the crime rate had begun to escalate, and citizens and law enforcement personnel alike began to feel genuine alarm. The Los Angeles Police Department enlisted the assistance of citizens in reporting suspicious activities in an attempt to stem the rising tide of property crimes. This was the birth of today’s Neighborhood Watches.
The National Sheriffs’ Association took this concept a step further in 1972 when it organized the National Neighbor-hood Watch Program (NNWP) with funding from the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration. Over the next seven years, NNWP distributed millions of pieces of crime prevention literature and provided technical assistance to law enforcement agencies and citizen organizations to implement local programs. The purpose was to encourage citizens to join in community crime prevention efforts—resulting in the creation of thousands of local residential Watch Groups nationwide. Citizens worked FIRST, to make their own homes less inviting targets for burglars, and SECOND, in conjunction with their neighbors and law enforcement to reduce the likelihood of crime in their neighborhoods.