An effective method in home security is enlisting neighbors in a local neighborhood watch program. The power of community can be a powerful tool in fighting property crime—offering proactive, collective, and perpetual vigilance over an entire block or neighborhood. A criminal is far less likely to knowingly target homes in a neighborhood watch area, than one where there’s no community vigilance of any sort. A neighborhood watch program enables a number of measures in safeguarding the community.
Preventative Measure Against Property Crime
Just like a security provider logo prominently and strategically displayed on a property can cause a criminal to move to the next home, a neighborhood watch sign can cause the criminal to move to the next neighborhood altogether.
Proactive Communication
Neighborhood watches encourage weekly meetings, community message boards, telephone trees, and even block parties, which open the lines of communication between neighbors. Residents can talk about unknown or suspicious visitors in the area, exchange vacation schedules, and ask other relevant questions of each other. The more collective knowledge about a community, the more effectively neighbors can look out for one another.
Additionally, neighborhood watch groups can consult with or even invite local authorities and security experts to their weekly meetings to share security tips and ideas.
Collective Plan of Action
Groups can establish a collective plan of action in the event a crime takes place. This can include initiating a telephone tree to notify surrounding neighbors and authorities of suspicious behavior, or safe homes to escape to in emergencies or lock-outs.
A neighborhood watch program can go a long way in lowering the crime rate of any neighborhood or city. And in addition to being an effective measure against crime, it encourages a strong social bond between neighbors.
