Business Plan: Neighborhood Watch Group
Background and Purpose of the Neighborhood Watch Group
Neighborhood watch group is a group of concerned neighborhood residents organized to prevent local criminal activity. Necessity to establish watch groups arises from the fact that typically there are not enough police officers to ensure constant patrolling everywhere in the neighborhood. The role of neighborhood watch groups is complimentary to the police department’s functioning, since the groups watch out for any criminal or suspicious behavior and report their findings to the local authorities. The main areas of focus for neighborhood watch groups are crimes committed around the home, such as residential burglary, larceny, vandalism, and auto theft (National Crime Prevention Council, 2017). Watch groups patrol their neighborhood and report any unusual or suspicious behavior noticed to the local law enforcement. Most often, members of watch groups report calls for help heard, strangers noticed lurking around, vehicles cruising without lights, and other suspicious events (Electronic Security Association, 2017).
Township of North Bergen is an area, where more than 22,000 households are located with total population of approximately 62,000 citizens (The North Bergen Police Department, 2015). North Bergen Police Department consists of 121 sworn police officers including 73 patrol officers and 49 civilian employees (The North Bergen Police Department, 2015). Thus there are nearly 19.5 police officers and only 11.8 patrol officers per 10,000 of population. Consequently, establishment of a neighborhood watch group is required to cover the gap in patrolling capacity of the North Bergen Police Department and ensure more effective use of police employees work time. The ultimate purpose of the North Bergen neighborhood watch group is to prevent criminal activity in the neighborhood and promote local security.
Short- and Long-Term Objectives
The major long-term objective of the North Bergen neighborhood watch group is to improve quality of life in the neighborhood and achieve reduction in local crime rate by 100%, with primary focus on such crimes, as burglary, larceny, auto theft and simple assault. The criminal activity is chosen to focus on, while it represents 75% of total yearly criminal activity in the neighborhood (862 out of 1,152 crimes according to the North Bergen Police Department’s 2015 annual report) and it is possible to address the problem by community efforts and prevent such crimes by watching out and reporting suspicious events noticed. Another important long-term objective is to unite the local community, promote cooperation between neighbors and between neighbors and local authorities.
The first short-term objective of the project is to inform neighbors about the initiative and encourage citizens to participate in it on voluntary basis. Other objectives include establishing regular patrolling around the neighborhood and forming cooperative relations with the North Bergen Police Department. It is also required to conduct trainings for citizens to teach them recognize suspicious activity and properly and timely report their observations to the police. Finally, it is necessary to increase awareness among neighborhood community members and educate citizens on how to secure themselves and their houses.
Neighborhood Analysis
Township of North Bergen is a 5.6 square …
