What is Neighborhood Watch?
Neighborhood Watch is one of the most effective and least costly ways to prevent crime in our neighborhood - it relies on the best crime-fighting tool ever invented...our relationships with each other. A successful Neighborhood Watch Program will fight the isolation and separation that crime creates by forging bonds among area residents, helps reduce burglaries and robberies, and improves our relationship with the LAPD.

The program calls upon residents to step forward and assist the police in organizing the community into a cohesive unit working toward the goal of building a safer, crime-free neighborhood. Neighborhood Watch groups discuss neighborhood crime problems with the objective of developing solutions to local problems. Los Angeles Police Officers supply crime information to neighborhood watch organizations and instruct these groups in various crime prevention techniques.

CHNA is in search for someone to fill the position of Watch Chairperson, coordinate efforts to begin the program for our community and supervise volunteer Block Captains, who will act as the liaisons for residents on their assigned block. Block captains are also responsible for developing and maintaining good communication with and among the residents on their block. They welcome new residents to their block and encourage them to participate in the block's Neighborhood Watch program. They keep up-to-date with crime on their block and and pass the information along to the Tony Pethebridge and/or law enforcement officials. Block Captains should also give special attention to the elderly residents of their block, get to know the working parents and help watch out for the safety and well-being of the block's youngest residents. The key to keeping a Neighborhood Watch group active is maintaining interest over time. By getting everyone involved, you will create a feeling of pride and the atmosphere of a small town, even though we live in a large city.

An active Neighborhood Watch program helps residents learn how to make their homes more secure, watch out for each other, and report activities that raise their suspicions to the police department. Watch groups are not vigilantes. They are extra eyes and ears for reporting crime and helping neighbors.

If you are interested in participating in the Castle Heights Neighborhood Watch program, either as a Block Captain or just a concerned resident who wants to help reduce crime in our neighborhood, please click here to contact CNHA.