Planning for a Successful First Meeting
Schedule your kickoff meeting in a place convenient to the neighbourhood, such as a private home, church, community building, school, or library.
Contact your police department 10 to 14 days in advance and inform officials of the date and place of the first meeting; verify that an officer will be able to attend. Seek a commitment from the police chief to assign an officer to work with your group, and ask the chief to address a letter to all potential NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH members expressing support.
Draw a large map of all the streets and households to be covered by your NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH organization. Start with a manageable number of homes at first; you can always add other areas.
Design a flyer or letter of invitation and see that one is delivered to every home on your target list. Teenagers and Scouts in the neighbourhood can play a valuable role by delivering announcements and information.
Follow up each invitation with a call or personal visit, reminding neighbors of the meeting time and place. Try to get each household to commit at least one adult member to the meeting so you can estimate potential attendance. All family members are welcome to join NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH, as young people can add substantially to the success of the program. Senior citizen participation is also a plus; retired seniors are home and can observe the neighbourhood when many other adults are at work.
Conducting the First Meeting
Arrive early at the first meeting to introduce the crime prevention officer and help everyone become acquainted.
 
Following the officer’s presentation, ask for details concerning any area of the NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH program that may not be clear, such as benefits of membership, training programs, availability of signs and materials, etc. Discuss the results of the neighbourhood crime survey. Revealing information about crimes and suspicious incidents or activities in your area can often generate lively discussion and active commitment to the program.
Set clear, achievable goals for your program. Your crime prevention officer can offer insight into what your group can realistically expect to accomplish.
Start a list of names, addresses, phone numbers, and vehicle descriptions of those who decide to participate in the program. You may also want to include names and ages of their children, work and school schedules, and whether or not their homes have burglar alarms or timers on lights. While some of this information may seem somewhat personal to neighbors who have just met, it is essential that they make a commitment to the WATCH effort at this stage and agree to work together.
Choose high visibility NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH signs and decals to identify participating homes and streets (the cost can be divided among households). Your crime prevention officer may assist you in ordering materials, but he may want to postpone this option until a good percentage of the residents have agreed to participate and ample training has been conducted. Discuss program coordination; explain the responsibilities of the NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH Coordinator and the block captains. Proceed with nominations and election of persons (or designation of volunteers) to fill these positions.
Ask the officer to suggest topics and speakers for future meetings. Inquire about security inspections for participants’ homes.
Determine time and place of next meeting. The members of the group should determine how often they will meet, but to keep the momentum going during the start-up phase, it is best to schedule monthly meetings. Some of the most successful WATCH programs require members’ attendance during the first three to five meetings. These meetings are essential in organizing and training the participants, supplying them with crime prevention procedures, and reinforcing the NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH concepts and commitment. These meetings are also instrumental in establishing a bond between group members. Following MeetingAfter the meeting, plan to distribute literature to residents in the community who were unable to attend. This may encourage them to be at the next meeting.
|
PORTSMOUTH WATCH
