Do you want to promote a safe community? If so, it’s time for you to take charge! In a neighborhood full of children it is important for them to feel safe when they go out to play. The best way to detour danger is to start a neighborhood watch within your community.

If you are unfamiliar with a neighborhood watch it is a group of people who work to prevent crime in the area. Neighborhood watch groups are one of the most effective ways to prevent crime from ever happening.

If you want to start a neighborhood watch group in your area here are a few tips to help you get started.

Know your neighbors

You know what’s scary? Not knowing your surroundings. It’s important that you take the time to get to know who is living next door and around the block from your home. When you meet and get to know the families that are in your neighborhood it will give you peace of mind when your children are outside playing.

Put together a list

In order to be successful, you need to have a list of all of the individuals who are involved in the neighborhood watch. With the list of names, you also should have addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses of all the individuals that can be passed out to the group.

Create a Facebook group

A great way to stay-in-touch with your watch group is to create a private Facebook group. When you create a private Facebook group the only people who can see the posted updates are the individuals that have been added to the group by the administrator. Having a Facebook group may be the best way for all the members to stay up-to-date on what is going on in the neighborhood.

Start watching

Your neighbors should know you and you should know them. In order to start watching and watching effectively and proactively, you need to know what is ordinary and what is out of the ordinary. When you know what to expect from your neighbors you won’t be afraid to report suspicious activity.

Set Up Meetings

Facebook groups and text messages are a great way to keep in touch but don’t neglect to set up face-to-face meetings. Whether you set up meetings quarterly or once a year it is important to sit down with your neighborhood and really talk about community issues and what can be done to improve the problems.

Create safety reminders

Sometimes we just need to be reminded of the best safety practices. Creating a safety tips flyer is a great way to remind your neighbors to lock their garage door and turn on the porch light to help protect their homes and families.

Now that you know what to do to keep where you live safe, it is time to make your neighborhood a better and safer place!