Offer support to victims of crime and help them readjust to normalcy. Encourage citizens to come forward as witnesses. Help elderly or debilitated citizens and children to protect themselves against crime, and push for additional projects to protect these special groups. In Albuquerque, NM, there are more than 1,800 neighborhood watches. Local police facilitate initial meetings, where residents are taught how to tell if a crime is being committed and how to report crimes to law enforcement officials.
All residents receive a list of their neighbors' names and phone numbers.
According to Richard Leonard, coordinator of neighborhood crime prevention programs for the Albuquerque Police Department, neighbors will often volunteer to patrol the block. Some watches have formed teams to monitor the neighborhood and report any suspicious activity to the police. Crime watch efforts in Albuquerque have paid off. We mean business. Crime is hitting small businesses in record numbers, forcing them to leave communities that desperately need their services.