With approximately 350 homes in this neighborhood Watch it covers a significant amount of geography and requires participation for the program to succeed. That is where you come in. An open invitation was sent out for the first community meeting 9/27/07 at the Unity Church 1165 Stubblefield and an impressive turnout of over 50 residents surpassed all expectations. The meeting was facilitated by Tony Durham, Crime Prevention Specialist for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff Department. A substantial amount of interest resulted in the request for immediate follow up Organizational meetings.
The first organizational meeting was also held at the Unity Church 10/3/07 with an opportunity to discuss expectations, block captains, and dissemination to other neighbors. This was a very important beginning but we need more participants to strengthen this program. It does not require a great deal of effort or time on your part.
Some may have heard about neighborhood Watch programs but are not sure what they entail. Is it law enforcement? Is it a bunch of busy-bodies? Is it vigilantes? The answer to each of these is NO! Neighborhood Watch is one of the oldest and most effective crime prevention programs in the country, bringing citizens together with law enforcement to deter crime and make communities safer.
The Neighborhood Watch concept is designed to target specific geographical areas and to assist citizens in these areas to;
Establish an organizational structure and create an information sharing network.- Help to introduce neighbors and create social ties that will help them work together.
Allow police to train citizens on how to be proactive by preventing crime and how to recognize and report criminal activities. - Access information and assistance from police and other Government agencies that can help to improve living conditions.
- Provide the community with a strong unified voice to inform community leaders on programs and actions that the "people" support.
- Neighborhood watch cannot only be utilized as a strong tool to fight crime, it is also a strong social organization. It can also be utilized to enact other projects such as Community Clean Up, Bus Stop Safety Watch for children and locating and assisting citizens with special needs.
- Neighborhood Watch is not a vigilante organization! It promotes awareness techniques and reporting crime not physical confrontation of criminals.
If this is of interest or you would like to participate you are invited to attend out next organizational Meeting scheduled at the same location (Unity Church) Thursday Oct 11, at 7:00 p.m.
You are encouraged to save the blog site and contact us if you have any questions. As always if you have an emergency dial 911. If you have a question about the blog or need to speak to someone about the Orcutt Neighborhood Watch Program you can reach Dan Reynolds at (805) 260-2690.
