The police department is celebrating a milestone in community-police partnerships: The estab-lishment of its 250th Neighborhood Watch program. Congratulations to the Crossman Creek Neighborhood Watch in Bristow!
These members completed the necessary requirements and received training in crime detection, reporting suspicious activity and self-protection, among other topics.
Neighborhood Watch is a free service of the Prince William County Police Department and is available to all Prince William residents.
If you are interested in starting a Watch program in your neighborhood, first decide how many homes to include in your watch. There is no maximum number, but a manageable number of homes is between 60 and 100.
Next, contact the Crime Prevention Unit at 703-792-7270, or e-mail the unit at crimepreven tion@pwcgov.org.
The appropriate Neighborhood Watch coordinator will mail you a package of information, includ-ing a book on the role of the Neighborhood Watch citizen coordinator.
You will be required to establish that at least 50 percent of the homes that you targeted are in support of the Watch.
After 50 percent of the neighborhood has agreed to participate, you will work with your police coordinator to set up two training meetings that can be held in someone's home or at a local church or school.
Once the training is completed, Watch signs will be posted and your community will join the 250 Neighborhood Watch groups already operating in Prince William.
As a Neighborhood Watch group you will receive crime reports, crime alerts and the McGruff Speaks newsletter. You will also be contacted regularly by your police officer coordinator to moni-tor the effectiveness of your Watch programs.
In addition, communities that are part of the Neighborhood Watch organization can participate in the county's National Night Out observation, chili cook-offs and other special events.
Don't wait any longer since Neighborhood Watch neighborhoods are believed to be 20 times safer than those areas without the program.
Send questions or comments to PWCPD-PIO, 8900 Freedom Center Blvd., Manassas, VA 20192 or via email to policedept@pwcgov.org.
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