Jonathan R. Henderson Mrs. Williams RHET 1312.

14 09 October 2013 Neighborhood Watch Pear Orchard Drive in East End, Arkansas is faced with recent breaking and entering activities. Therefore, the community needs to pull together and use their resources to put a stop to mischief and crime activity. Local law enforcement will not always be close enough to your community when you need them. By establishing a neighborhood watch in our community it will help lower crime activity. Nationally, there is probably only one law enforcement at any one time for every 4,500 residents. Neighborhood Watch Participants are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week tremendously multiplying the effectiveness of any law enforcement departments effort to prevent crime (National Neighborhood Watch Institute). Mapping out the neighborhood will help homeowners to understand their role in a neighborhood watch program. There is only one way in and one way out of the neighborhood. Once you have turned into the neighborhood there are about 9 dead end roads. On each street there are about 15 houses on each street. That is a lot of people to keep a watch out for in the whole neighborhood. So, I have broken it down into three different smaller sections to allow for a better neighborhood watch program. In each section of the neighborhood watch program there are homeowners that play a significant role in this community watch program. The first step had to be that we as a community get the county involved with the local law enforcement. Then we need to take a vote to determine what our sections are going to be. After determining what sections are going to be where, we needed to put out signs that were able to be

viewed from a vehicle or a person entering these locations. These signs are red and black (masked Bad Guy and Boris the Burglar) or blue and black (Crime Watch Blue Eye) in both Sheriff and Police Version or Law Enforcement Version with Neighborhood Scene. They are silk screened on to a white surface. They come in all sizes but typical is an 18x24 and 12x18 sign (National Neighborhood Watch Institute). In the first section there were signs that were put up on the main entryway entering the community. This particular section to this neighborhood watch has a lot of homeowners that are retired and stay home during the day and roam around at night. These people help out by seeing what vehicles come in and out of the community. These particular homeowners do not usually go to the back of the neighborhood so they are not familiar where everyone belongs. The next sign is at the end of the main road coming into the community. The stop sign starts the next section to the neighborhood crime watch. This section has some homeowners that work shift work and are able to see what goes on at different times of the day and week. These homeowners also typically do not go to the back of the community, they just see from the front to where they live. The last section is spread out so all the homeowners in this section have to keep a watch out for just the neighbors that life close by them. This section has families with young drives that are always coming and going. Because, section 3 is in the very back these young drivers help out for the whole community/neighborhood. Those three sections of the neighborhood watch will not work unless all homeowners participate in this watch. The number of members and the leaders style influences the cohesiveness of informal groups (Neighborhood Watch 16). Small, informal work groups with strong leaders historically prove the most effective (Neighborhood Watch 16).

With all that each neighbor has his or her own responsibility for the neighborhood watch. When each neighbor watches out for their part of their section, helps out the neighborhood as a whole. When the community works together to help watch each others homes and valuables it helps the local law enforcement. When law enforcement is short handed and spread out the crime watchers can help the law by identifying the subject before they arrive. Citizens request police assistance for a wide variety of problems that do not easily fit within narrow definitions of crime or law enforcement (Neighborhood-Oriented Policing in Rural Communities). Law enforcement only needs to be called if neighborhood watchers can not deal with the problem without getting in harms way. What you will not do is get physically involved with any activity you report or apprehension of any suspicious persons (National Neighborhood Watch Institute). This is the job of the local law enforcement in your area. Many police departments have implemented Neighborhood Watch programs with much success: however, some have difficulty initiating and sustaining the groups (Neighborhood Watch). For our community to keep this watch program going we will have to stay on top of each other to implement this program to its full potential. By working closely with the local police department, we will be able to let them to their job and more if the community will work together and do their part. So, having this neighborhood crime watch in our community is a big asset to the neighborhood as a whole. Having this neighborhood watch in our community separated into three parts will help us and others lower crime activity. Participation and involvement are important to your program. Just Do it!

Work Cited Baker, Thomas E. Baker, Jane P.Zezza, Ralph.Neighborhood Watch. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin 68.2 (1999): 12. Legal Collection. Web. 2 Oct 2013. National Neighborhood Watch Institute. Participants Handbook. National Neighborhood Watch Institute, 2006. Print. Sensenbrenner, . United States. House of Representatives. Report to accompany H. Res. 336.Washington, DC: U.S. Government, 2005. Print. United States. Bureau of Justice Assistance. Neighborhood-Oriented Policing in Rural Communities. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, 1994. Print.

Appendix

Neighborhood Crime Watch Sections Section 1 Blue Section 2 Pink Section 3 - Green