NCJ Number
90293
Date Published
1983
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This report proposes a new concept for Orlando's Neighborhood Watch Program (Florida) so as to enhance, strengthen, and unify Neighborhood Watch throughout the city.
Abstract
Although Orlando's Neighborhood Watch program has had an overall positive effect, it has been hampered by the police department's limited staff, changing departmental priorities, and limited funding. Further, there are not quickly accessible and accurate statistics to measure program effectiveness and alert neighborhoods to increased criminal activity. To deal with these and other problems, the Neighborhood Watch Study Task Force recommended (1) the management of Neighborhood Watch by citizens rather than the police, (2) the inclusion of contiguous areas of adjacent jurisdictions, and (3) the targeting and saturating of a specific area until it has been organized. The implementation of these recommendations through a steering committee led to the establishment of a Citizens' Neighborhood Watch Council within the Orlando Crime Prevention Commission to market and manage the Neighborhood Watch Program in conjunction with the police department, the development of criteria to define 'active' Neighborhood Watch and the incorporation of an evaluation mechanism for organizing watches, and the division of the city into six Neighborhood Watch districts. Appended are a list of the steering committee members, an oragnization chart, a Neighborhood Watch presentation, marketing strategy, and a Neighborhood Watch questionnaire.