| Neighborhood Watch Program |
| In the summer of 2005, The Hampshire County Sheriff's Office implemented it's Neighborhood Watch Campaign. It's pilot neighborhood was the Indian Heights community just West of Romney. This program is still growing and has already had an impact on reported crimes in the community. Neighborhood policing by you and your neighbors, together with local law enforcement, creates a greater sense of security, well-being, and reduction of fear of crime because you know you and your neighbors will "LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER." The Programs trains you how to observe and report suspicious activity occurring in your neighborhood. It trains you on what information law enforcement officers need when you report a crime and why. Knowing your neighbors is an important feature and benefit of this program. You get to know their regular patterns so you can see when something is unusual. You get to know how to contact them quickly. You know when they are on vacation, when they are at work and who the occupants are in the home. Being aware of this information is not invading anyone's privacy or "snooping", it is guarding against any situation that could be dangerous to your neighborhood. It simply comes down to the motto of, "WE LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER". Posting Neighborhood Watch signs on your street and labels or decals on your windows tells a criminal that (a) you are not an easy target, that (b) they are probably being watched and (c) you have taken the steps necessary to deter crime in your neighborhood. Convicted burglars have admitted that they avoided neighborhoods that have Neighborhood Watch Signs posted. For more information on how to get a Neighborhood Watch Program started in your subdivision or neighborhood, contact Deputy Mechelle Sabin at the Sheriff's Office. She will be more than happy to sit down with you and go over what is needed from you and what we can do for you. Sheriff's Office: (304) 822-3894 Email: msabin@hampshirecountysheriffwv.com |
