Neighborhood Watch
Crime prevention is not, as many would believe, a new topic. It is only recently though that police departments across the country have come to realize that preventing crime in specific neighborhoods is one solution to the increasing burdens placed upon their shrinking resources.
The Seville Police Department is no exception. With an increasing workload, it is imperative that measures be taken now to keep crime in your neighborhood in check. Many people, especially those living in larger cities, believe that crimes are just a fact of life and accept it as fact that there is little to be done about the problem. They cite the fact that there are only so many police and too many thugs and grow accustomed to reading about the problems in their areas, in fact 23,000,000 U.S. households were victimized by crime in 1991, 24% of the population.
The truth is, however, that neighborhoods and individual citizens can make a difference.
Neighborhoods with active crime resistance programs have experienced great success in reducing crime in their area. These anti-crime programs include friendly "neighbor watching neighbor" programs in urban areas to roving citizen patrols in high crime neighborhoods.
Crime Resistance
Crime resistance is not a topic that needs to be taught. We all know what it is that we should do to prevent crime in our neighborhoods, we have heard it all before a hundred times: lock your doors; keep your garage door closed; use timers on your lights when you leave; don't give information out over the phone and on and on and on. However, few people actually practice these time proven techniques.
Where are your children at this very moment? Who are they with? What do you know about their friends? Is your garage door closed? Is your house locked? Do your windows and sliding glass doors have pins in them to keep them from being jimmied open? Do you lock your car doors every night? Do you place your belongings inside each night?
Few people could answer the questions above truthfully and still say that they are doing everything that they could do to prevent themselves and their families from becoming a victim of crime. Look around your neighborhood tonight and count the number of garage doors that are left open and the number of bikes left laying in front yards and then imagine what a burglar or vandal would see.
Crime Prevention
Crime prevention is not a matter of attending a meeting, locking a door or calling the police. It is a way of life that becomes second nature. It is an attitude; a way of thinking and behaving that is passed on to other neighbors and to your children. It is an understanding of the problem and a commitment to do something about it. It is healthy, civic involvement in the neighborhood where you have chosen to live and to raise your family. It is the understanding that while the police department is concerned about the problem, we can't do it alone. In the United States, there are only 2.2 full time police officers for every 1,000 citizens
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The Problem in Seville
The greatest problems thus far in Seville continue to be vandalism and thefts. While it is true that the problem is not as great as in other Villages, the problem is certainly increasing.
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What is the Solution?
While there is no one, single solution to the crime problem in Seville, neighborhood watch programs can go a long way towards reaching the goal.
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What is a Neighborhood Watch?
The neighborhood watch program is a network of neighbors who make a commitment to each other to watch over each other's property.
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The Crime Equation
To understand what makes a neighborhood watch program successful, it is necessary to understand the types of crime and criminals expected. The majority of criminals in the Seville area have tended to be juveniles, usually staying near their own neighborhood. This year has seen an increase in the amounts of vandalism done in the area, a result of unsupervised juveniles.
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How Will Our Program Work?
Learn how to make the Neighborhood Watch most successful.
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What Happens When I Call the Police?
Reassure yourself with these answers to most questions about calling the police while working with the Neighborhood Watch.
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Block Captains
A Block Captain is simply a leader in your community who agrees to work with the police department in getting vital information to you. Each Block Captain would be assigned a certain number of homes near him whom he would call with information passed on by the police department.
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The Communications Network
Learn about who talks to who in order to have the most successful communication network.
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Conclusion
The neighborhood watch program operates on the idea that the best crime prevention device ever invented is a good neighbor. If you call when you see suspicious activity in your neighborhood, be aware of crime and its effects, and practice good security habits, your chances of ever becoming a victim of a crime in your neighborhood become less and less.