Crime Prevention

What is Neighborhood Watch?

Across the County, crime is of concern to citizens. Increasingly, citizens and law enforcement professionals realize that neither one can eradicate crime working separately. Neighbors and other concerned citizens, working cooperatively with law enforcement, can have a positive effect by utilizing a Neighborhood Watch Program.

Home burglaries, in particular, can be minimized when community residents take steps to make their homes less attractive and vulnerable to burglars. Through the well recognized concept of Neighborhood Watch, a community-based program supported by the National Sheriffs’ Association and the Polk County Sheriff's Office, residents of thousands of communities across the nation have discovered that they can make a difference in preventing crime.

Why Start a Neighborhood Watch?

By starting a Neighborhood Watch Program, you will build a sense of community by connecting with your neighbors and preventing crime. It has been shown that neighborhoods with an active Neighborhood Watch Program can reduce incidents of residential burglary and other types of crimes. When residents look out for suspicious activity in their neighborhood, and report that activity to law enforcement and to each other, the community feels more secure and less fearful.

The success of the Neighborhood Watch Program starts with the citizens working together with law enforcement on crime issues within their neighborhood.