Aug 25, 2016

Stutong Neighbourhood Watch: Getting to know your Neighbours!

Neighbourhood Watch is a program to help neighbours watch out for neighbours. Getting involved is easy. It is as simple as getting to know your neighbours and exchanging contact information. The program combats crime in the most effective way – before it starts – by reducing the opportunities for crime to occur.

Your neighbours know who you are, what type of car you drive, and may be the first to notice a suspicious person at your door or window. A police officer on patrol are not always aware of the normal comings and goings in your street.

You and your neighbours are in a position to observe strangers and/or strange behaviour and report these suspicions to police. By simply getting to know the neighbours around you, you will be well positioned to recognise someone or something that’s suspicious. Crime prevention is everyone’s business. Residents of a community are all responsible for its protection.

Neighbourhood Watch is a method of reducing crime by encouraging you to learn how to recognise and report suspicious activity in your neighbourhood, and how to make your home less inviting as a target for thieves. Neighbourhood Watch is a good way to start conversations in your community and build safe, strong, caring, connected and happy communities!

Getting Involved

It takes many different people, working together to successfully build Neighbourhood Watch and promote its philosophy.

The simplest and easiest way to promote the Neighbourhood Watch philosophy is as a Participant.

Not everyone in a street or a local community may wish to formally join a Stutong NW group or get actively involved in Stutong NW activities. The NW program is still accessible by simply getting to know your neighbours, looking out for each other, reporting suspicious activity to police and so on.

By following a few simple steps, everyone can promote the Neighbourhood Watch philosophy –

Observe

Neighbours should know what is normal in their neighbourhood and what is out of the ordinary. Neighbourhood Watch does not want you to spy on your neighbour. We want you to be concerned for the safety of your neighbourhood. Spend time out in your community and become familiar with your local environment.

Acknowledge

Communication is the key – knowing who your neighbours are and acknowledging them. Waving and saying hello can deter an outsider, as well as signifying that you are communicating and watching out for one another. Good neighbours also acknowledge those people they don’t know. Thus letting potential intruders know that they have been seen and observed potentially reducing the opportunity for crime to occur.

Report

Report suspicious activity to Police. Police can not respond to community problems if they are not made aware of them. If your instinct is telling you something doesn’t feel right – it probably isn’t.

Knowledge is a powerful positive tool and helps prevent crime. Sharing information with Police and your neighbours helps build awareness and connects a neighbourhood. Crime prevention is everyone’s business and everyone has the potential to be a key in building a safer neighbourhood.

For more information on the Stutong Neighbourhood Watch, please contact 082-361958 or email admin@transfornation.org

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Mar 20, 2015

Tips and Stutong Neighborhood Watch

Tips

Work with the police department. These agencies are critical to a Watch group’s credibility and are the source of necessary information and training.
Link up with your victims’ services office to get your members trained in helping victims of crime.
Hold regular meetings to help residents get to know each other and to decide upon program strategies and activities.
Consider linking with an existing organization, such as a citizens’ association, community development office, tenants’ association, or housing authority. They may be able to provide an existing infrastructure you can use.
Canvass door-to-door to recruit members.
Ask people who seldom leave their homes to be “window watchers,” looking out for children and reporting any unusual activities in the neighborhood.
Sponsor a crime and drug prevention fair at a church hall, temple, shopping mall, or community center.
Gather the facts about crime in your neighborhood. Check police reports, conduct victimization surveys, and learn residents’ perceptions about crimes. Often, residents’ opinions are not supported by facts, and accurate information can reduce the fear of crime.
Physical conditions like abandoned cars or overgrown vacant lots contribute to crime. Sponsor cleanups, encourage residents to beautify the area, and ask them to turn on outdoor lights at night.
Work with small businesses to repair rundown storefronts, clean up littered streets, and create jobs for young people.
Start a block parent program to help children cope with emergencies while walking to and from school or playing in the area.
Emphasize that Watch groups are not vigilantes and should not assume the role of the police. Their duty is to ask neighbors to be alert, observant, and caring—and to report suspicious activity or crimes immediately to the police.

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Feb 14, 2015

NW Stutong: Home Security 101

The Neighborhood Watch Stutong (NWS) has been ongoing in our community for the past 3 years. We would like to acknowledge and thank everyone for being vigilant and watching out for everyone!

There are actually quite a few things you can do to protect your home & family from intruders:

*Install motion lights near door ways.

*Keep bushes & hedges trimmed low so burglars can’t hide behind them or their shadows.

*When you are away from home, have your mail & papers picked up so they do not pile up.

*Noise! Having a dog or even a recording of a dog barking will deter a burglar.

*Put your lights on a timer so they come on in the evening, even if you are not home.

*Install deadlocks on all external doors & make sure each door & window is locked at night & when you are away from home.