Neighborhood Watch Research Paper

1189 Words5 Pages
Since the inception of the neighborhood watch program in Gardnerville, Nevada, we have seen a dramatic decrease in complaints about suspicious behavior, deviant behavior, and crimes. There has been a noticeable increase in the attendance at community meetings and more proactive participation from everyone involved with the program. As a community we have come together to ensure that our neighborhood is once again safe for the local residents. No longer are we afraid to walk our dogs or let our children play outside. The neighborhood watch program has brought us closer as a unit and is helping us achieve the ultimate goal of one day being crime free. We chose to use a peacemaking design for our neighborhood watch. We realize that the citizens of our neighborhood are not law enforcement and we do not have the resources or training that our local law enforcement does. By ensuring that we offer a more nontraditional approach to retribution of the offenders, we have a lower percentage of reoccurring offenders. By dealing with the offenders through communication and education, we set ourselves apart from the local law enforcement. This not only allows for a more peaceful resolution, but it also reduces the amount of money the residents would have collect in order to pay the salary of the off duty officer we would need to patrol the community. Residents discovered that by rotating duties and shifts, everyone who wants to participate in the program has a chance to. Working together we are stronger than if we took it upon ourselves individually to confront the issues of crime we have in the community. Research has proven that by taking an active role in protecting our assets we have a better appreciation of not only the property we have, but the property of our community as a whole. By continuing to improve on our efforts we can only benefit from our local neighborhood
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