The Independence Police Department recognizes that community participation in crime prevention programs is essential to improving the quality of life in the City of Independence. One of the most effective ways to promote citizen interaction with police is the sharing of information. At its heart, The Neighborhood Watch Program encourages this partnership between the police and community. It is a program of neighbors watching out for other neighbors, particularly during times when criminal activity would likely occur. Also, as a part of Neighborhood Watch, citizen groups determine specific needs or problems and then share this information with local police. The police then act on this information and report back to the group on their progress.

Please click on the following links for more information.

Why do you need a Neighborhood Watch?
What is a Neighborhood Watch?
How does it work?
How do you develop a Neighborhood Watch?
What do you do after the meeting?
What is a Block Captain?
Why a Neighborhood News Letter?
Block Parties and Get-Togethers
Neighborhood Watch Guide Lines

Why do you need a neighborhood watch?
It is obvious that the police cannot be everywhere and see everything. The police need you to be their eyes and ears when they are not around. You need to call the police when you see a crime take place or suspicious activity in your neighborhood. You above all people will know what suspicious activity in your neighborhood is because you know who belongs in your neighborhood. Most of the crime that takes place in a neighborhood the police cannot make an arrest without you being a witness to the crime and for the victim to make a formal complaint of the crime. Our laws in the United States were never designed for the police to enforce laws without your help. You are the one who empowers the police to make arrests. The police are there to help you police your neighborhood, not to do it alone. It takes everyone to get involved. It takes a neighborhood to get involved.

What is a Neighborhood Watch?
Neighborhood Watch is an active crime prevention program where neighbors make a commitment to each other to look out for each others property and safety in an organized effort with each other and the police.

How does it work?
Many neighbors in a neighborhood see crimes or suspicious activity in a neighborhood and never call the police. Some feel afraid of retaliation by the criminal and some feel if it does not affect them directly it is not their problem. In a Neighborhood Watch, neighbors make a commitment to each other to call the police when they see a crime take place or suspicious activity in the neighborhood. After they call the police, they notify other neighbors of the activity going on so other neighbors are aware of the activity. Including other neighbors can help in visually tracking the activity of the suspect and provide other witness for the police. Those who are timid about getting involved will feel more secure by having other neighbors participating. There is always security in numbers and crooks feel intimidated by active crime prevention neighborhoods. Criminal activity in the neighborhood is not just your problem but it is a neighborhood problem and the rest of the neighborhood needs to get involved.

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How do you develop a Neighborhood Watch?
You start by talking to your neighbors about neighborhood watch and ask them if they are interested in keeping crime out of the neighborhood. When you have several neighbors who have made a commitment to get involved it is time to have a meeting with the neighborhood. Contact the Independence Police Community Services Unit at 325-7643 or 325-7876 and make an appointment for a Police Officer to come out to you neighborhood and attend your meeting. Usually Monday through Thursday are the best days to have a neighborhood meeting with 7PM being the best time. You next need to pass out a flyer to each of your neighbors telling them why you are having the meeting, where the meeting will be and the date and time of the meeting. You can cover as large an area as you want but each block watch will usually encompass just your block with other block watches surrounding you. Meetings can be held in your home, in your driveway, your yard, a near by park, a community church or school. You will have more attendance from the neighborhood if you keep the meeting in the neighborhood. You may want to state in your flyer that the neighbor brings a lawn chair with them to sit on. You can make up your own flyer (a sample is included in this book) or you can obtain generic ones in the amount you need from the Community Services Unit. When the officer attends your meeting he will explain to your neighbors the importance of a neighborhood watch and help you to get started. Problems in the neighborhood will be discussed at this meeting along with solutions to those problems. Normally a block captain and a CO-captain are chosen by neighbors at this meeting for each block in attendance.

What do you do after the meeting?
Its time to start policing your neighborhood. What does policing your neighborhood mean? Policing your neighborhood does not mean apprehending criminals or putting yourself in danger. Each person in the judicial system has their perspective job to do. And each job acts as a checks and balance to each other so that justice is served in an impartial way. You as the citizen are the first line of defense for a neighborhood. You are the eyes and ears for the neighborhood to initiate a response from the police. You have the job of reporting crimes, reporting suspicious activity, being a witness, making formal complaints, providing pertinent information to the police to solve crimes and going to court and testifying against criminals t hat threaten the peace of your neighborhood. The police officer has his job, the prosecutor has his job and the judge has his job. If one of us breaks down on our job than the system breaks down and justice is not served and the criminal has not been made accountable for his actions. As adding more police officers to a police department makes it stronger and more productive, adding more neighbors to preventing crime in a neighborhood strengthens the neighborhood and makes it a safer neighborhood. Try to get as many neighbors to make a commitment to join you in watching your neighborhood. Help them to understand that it is their responsibility, as a neighborhood, to keep crime out and provide a safe neighborhood for everyone. Get together r as a neighborhood and build relationships with neighbors. The better you get to know your neighbors the more you will look out for each others well being. As you get to know people you learn more about who belongs in a neighborhood and what is suspicious activity for your neighborhood. Having a block party twice a year is a good way to get to know neighbors. Create a news letter for the neighborhood to keep neighbors informed on crimes, suspicious activity or special things happening in the neighborhood. If a theft occurred in the neighborhood wouldn't you like to know about it? The more neighbors you have helping you, the safer you will feel in the neighborhood and the less crime you will have. Make a map of the neighborhood and make sure each person participating in your Neighborhood Watch gets a copy. The map should include name, address and telephone numbers of your neighbors. If you observe a crime take place, you can take out your map and tell the police the exact location of the crime and call the neighbors in the area to advise them.

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What is a Block Captain?
The Block Captain is the person that keeps things organized. Block Captains set up block parties or meetings, creates the news letter, passes out the news letter, keeps the map updated, keeps neighbors informed and recruits neighbors to be block watchers. Any one or all of the above jobs can be delegated out to the CO-captain or other neighbors by the block captain. The more a block captain delegates to others, the less work they have to do and the responsibilities are shared by others. The block captain needs to keep the neighborhood focused on crime issues and avoid getting involved in other neighborhood issues. This is not a home owners association but a crime watch. Dealing with neighbors differences, property issues or if someone needs to paint their house is not as a rule going to bring neighbors together to build a stronger block watch. As a block captain stay out of the middle of disputes or gossip. Try to keep neighbors focused on the fact that a Neighborhood Watch is neighbors protecting the neighborhood from crime. A new block captain can be chosen each year if the neighborhood desires or the current block captain or CO-captain can continue to serve. The block captain should greet new neighbors to the neighborhood and explain the Neighborhood Watch program to them asking for their help in keeping the neighborhood safe.

Why a Neighborhood News Letter?
Make up a news letter for the neighborhood and pass it out every month. News letters serve several purposes. They let neighbors know each month that the block watch is still operating and reminds people of their commitment to the neighborhood. It also keeps neighbors informed of happenings in the neighborhood. Happenings could be anything from crime, suspicious activity, congratulations to a neighbor or sickness in a neighbor’s family. Everyone likes to be informed and your news letter will be read by neighbors. The news letter can be anything from one type written page to several pages with advertising in it paid for by local business or neighbors who have a business. A simple business card copied makes good advertising for a neighbor and the small fee charged can fund the cost of the newsletter printing or may pay for meat at the next neighborhood cook out. Call each neighbor and ask them for news to add to the news letter each month. News letter samples can be obtained from the neighborhood watch office for you to look at or from other neighborhood watches. Ask other neighbors to take a turn in putting out the News Letter and passing it out.

Block Parties and Get-Togethers
A block party can be anything your neighborhood would like it to be. The idea is to get neighbors together doing something, building relationships. Getting to know your neighbors and building relationships is an important part of any Neighborhood Watch. You can block off the street, have it in a neighbors driveway or someone's front yard. You can hire a band or a DJ for music if you desire. To block off the street call 325-7602 for a permit and barricades will be provided for you by the city. The city requests you put your request for blocking off the street in writing, at least two weeks in advance, the date and times the street will be closed, the name of the street being barricaded and where the barricades will be placed. To have music outside you can also obtain a permit from the city. Involve children in these regular neighborhood block parties and you will create memories for decades to come. Hear are some ideas that other neighbors have done.

Pot luck - Everyone brings two or three items of food.
Bar-B-Q - Everyone brings their own meat or you can take up a collection for the meat.
Desert bar - Everyone brings their favorite home made desert and shares the recipe.
Chili supper - Everyone brings some Chili and you throw it all in a large pot. (sounds weird but its good.)
Ice cream social - Home made or store bought (home made is better and brings back nostalgia and old time neighborhood get-togetherness.)
Water melon feast - Have a seed spitting contest.
Mexican, Italian, Chinese or Hawaiian dinner - Everyone brings a dish for the chosen event. Decorate the area for the occasion.
Have a neighborhood dance
Neighborhood garage sale
Car wash and wax - Everyone brings their car to a central location and helps in waxing each others car every year. Have a picnic too.
Tire pressure check - Check the spare tire too.
When a new neighbor moves in have a welcome to the neighborhood block party for them as the guest of honor.

With all the Holidays through out the year it makes a good time for a neighborhood get-together.
Christmas party
Christmas Caroling - Get together and carol adjacent neighborhoods.
Illuminators - At Christmas time take sacks, sand and candles and light up your street. Contact the Independence Neighborhood Council at 833-4225 for information on purchasing these items.

Halloween - Block off the street and have a party for the children.
Fourth of July
Easter Egg Hunt
National Night Out - The first Tuesday in August is set a side Nationally for neighbors to get together and show their support for the fight against crime. Turn on your porch lights and have a neighborhood get-together.

Use your imagination and have fun as a neighborhood. If you're too busy to get to know your neighbors then maybe you need to reevaluate your priorities.

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Neighborhood Watch Guide Lines
Block Watches are evaluated January 1st and July 1st to determine their level of participation

Level One: Neighborhood conducts a yearly block party.
Recognition: Monthly newsletter from the Police Department.

Level Two: Develops a map of addresses and phone numbers for the block.
Distributes this map to each participant in the block watch.
Organizes a get-together of the block at least once every six months.
One of those meetings must be a block party.
Attends at least one of the City Wide Block Captains meetings once every for months. Any resident of the block may represent the group at this meeting.
Passes out crime prevention's newsletter to the neighborhood monthly
(This is optional but is Highly Recommended).
Recognition: A Crime Watch Sign on the block and monthly newsletter.

Level Three: Completes all the requirements of Level Two and in addition:
Turns in an updated Block Map each January
all of the homes on the block have their addresses displayed on their homes in accordance to City Ordnance.
One person on the block is a Citizen's Police Academy Graduate
Recognition: Crime Watch Signs on the block. Monthly news letter. Receive an award at the annual awards ceremony.

Block Watch Signs are free but they must be earned.

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