St. Pete Beach Crimewatch

CRIME STOPPERS of PINELLAS

Do you have information about a crime? Call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS (8477). You can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward.

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH

For more information on starting a neighborhood watch in your neighborhood, contact the Police Department at 727-363-9214

Neighborhood Watch, Block Watch, Town Watch, Building Watch, Crime Watch—whatever the name, it’s one of the most effective and least costly ways to prevent crime and reduce fear. Neighborhood Watch fights the isolation that crime both creates and feeds upon. It forges bonds among area residents, helps reduce burglaries and robberies, and improves relations between police and the communities they serve.

WHY NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH?

• It works. Throughout the country, dramatic decreases in burglary and related offenses are reported by law enforcement professionals in communities with active Watch programs.
• Today’s transient society produces communities that are less personal. Many families have two working parents and children involved in many activities that keep them away from home. An empty house in a neighborhood where none of the neighbors know the owner is a prime target for burglary.
  
• Neighborhood Watch also helps build pride and serves as a springboard for efforts that address
  other community concerns such as recreation for youth, child care, and affordable housing.

HOW DOES A NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH START?

• Organize a small planning committee of neighbors to discuss needs, the level of interest, and possible community problems.
• Contact the St. Pete Beach Police Department for help in training members in home security and reporting skills and for information on local crime patterns.
• Hold an initial meeting to gauge neighbors’ interest; establish the purpose of the program; and begin to identify issues that need to be addressed.
• Select a coordinator.
• Ask for block captain volunteers who are responsible for relaying information to members.
• Recruit members, keeping up-to-date information on new residents and making special efforts to involve the elderly, working parents, and young people.

WHAT DOES A NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH DO?
A Neighborhood Watch is neighbors helping neighbors. They are extra eyes and ears for reporting crime and helping neighbors. Members meet their neighbors, learn how to make their homes more secure, watch out for each other and the neighborhood, and report activity that raises their suspicions to the police or sheriff ’s office.

WHAT ARE THE MAJOR COMPONENTS OF A WATCH PROGRAM?

• Community meetings. These should be set up on a regular basis such as bi-monthly, monthly, or several times a year.
• Citizens’ or community patrol. A citizens’ patrol is made up of volunteers who walk or drive through the community and alert police to crime and questionable activities. Not all Neighborhood Watches need a citizens’ patrol.
  
• Communications. These can be as simple as a weekly flyer posted on community announcement boards to a newsletter that updates neighbors on the progress of the program to a neighborhood electronic bulletin board.
  
• Special events. These are crucial to keep the program going and growing. Host talks or seminars that focus on current issues such as hate or bias-motivated violence. Special events can be submitted to PIO for inclusion in St. Pete Beach weekly electronic newsletter.

A CHECKLIST FOR STARTING A NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH PROGRAM:

• A person or group of people committed to starting a Neighborhood Watch.
• A planning committee to initiate the program.
• A list of what issues initially need to be addressed in your community.
• A means of communicating with the residents, e-mail, flyers, telephone trees.
• Publicity for the initial Neighborhood Watch meeting.
• A meeting agenda to keep things moving and on track.
• A place to meet - resident’s house or apartment, community center, school, library.
• A crime prevention officer to discuss the crime issues in the neighborhood and to help train members.
• A map of the community with spaces for names, addresses, and phone numbers of all households.
• A sign-up sheet for those interested in becoming block or building captains.
• Brochures or other materials on topics of interest to the residents.
• Neighborhood Watch signs to be posted around the community. Some jurisdictions require a minimum number of participants before Neighborhood Watch signs can be posted.
• Facts about crime in your neighborhood. (These can be obtained from the SPBPD.. Often residents’ opinions are not supported by facts, and accurate information can reduce fear of crime.)
  
  To Add Excitement:
  
• Mix business with pleasure -allow attendees time to socialize.
  
• Seek out neighborhood go-getters, civic leaders and elected officials, to be your advocates and mentors.
  
• Work with existing organizations such as citizens’ association, tenants’ association, or housing authorities.
  
• Provide speakers on topics of community interest.
  
• Link crime prevention into activities promoted by other groups: child protection, anti-vandalism projects, start a neighborhood newsletter.
  
• Arrange for to a notable speaker to make a surprise appearance at a meeting, rally, or other event.