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In 1972 the National
Sheriff's Association, alarmed by an increasing incidence of
burglaries in suburban areas, applied to the Law Enforcement
Assistance Administration for financial assistance to establish
National Neighborhood Watch. By 1977, this program was active in
over 2,000 counties and municipalities. In 1981, Neighborhood Watch
was instituted in the Town of Fairfield.
The purpose of neighborhood watch is to set up neighborhood
groups in order to make the citizenry share equal responsibility for crime
prevention in their area by reducg criminal opportunity. The goal of the
program is to prevent crime through neighborhood security by heightening the
community's power of observation and encouraging mutual assistance and concern
among neighbors.
Neighborhood Watch Groups are not vigilantes. They leave
responsibility for apprehending criminals with the police. neighbors are only
asked to be alert, observant and caring.
The program entails organizing neighborhood watch meetings at
member's homes and promoting the program through educating them on crime
deterrents. Watch captains are chosen to organize their neighbors to provide
each other with street maps of residents' vital information, and to act as
contacts between the police and the particular neighborhood. A number is
assigned to the neighborhood watch, and street signs and window decals are
provided.
The Police department does not run your Neighborhood Watch.
The watch is run by the organization itself. No one is forced to join. However,
for this program to work efficiently the people in the Watch areas have to
participate.
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