No one cares until something happens to them. What we try to do is get the community involved. On a recent Saturday, Morgan brought the sheriff's office's Peacekeeper, a vehicle used by the SWAT team, to three of six East Lake communities that have signed on with neighborhood watch. The watch requires a minimum of one neighborhood event per year, usually a block party, with food donated by local merchants. Children played in a moonwalk, and young and old alike climbed into the Peacekeeper to explore the vehicle.
New neighbors get to know the community.
Gilsdorf said neighborhood watch has been priceless in making residents feel secure. Within minutes everyone in the neighborhood knew to be alert to him. Community members in the watch call people listed on a phone chain, beginning with a call to the Sheriff's Office. Deputies then activate the sheriff's watch information system by calling in a message and punching in the code for an area. The message is automatically phoned to all listed residents in that area at a rate of 1,200 calls per hour.