Neighborhood Watch
A Corvallis Police Department Crime Prevention Program
Neighbors Watching Out For Neighbors… It Works!
Getting Started
What is Neighborhood Watch?
Crimes are less likely to occur in neighborhoods with strong social ties. These are neighborhoods where people know each other well and are willing to look out for one another's interests. Neighborhood Watch is modeled on this concept. It is a program in which neighbors help neighbors keep each others' homes and families safe. It aims to reduce residential crime in our community by stopping it before it happens.
Why Start a Watch Group?
Residential crime is serious. No neighborhood in Corvallis is immune. On average 14 home burglaries occur in Corvallis during a typical month. With the average residential burglary in the US costing the homeowner $2,361 (FBI statistic), that’s about $33,054 of stolen goods every month and $396,648 each year -- right here in Corvallis.
More important than the dollars, however, is the sense of personal violation and feelings of lost security that victims experience after a criminal has roamed freely through their home and touched personal items. And there is always a risk of violence during a burglary. To prevent themselves from being caught, burglars are prone to assault someone who is at home when the burglary is taking place. Unfortunately, these assaults often result in serious injury and sometimes are fatal.
Home burglaries occur everywhere in Corvallis. However, according to the National Sheriff's Association, Neighborhood Watch is the single most effective deterrent to residential crime. This means you can do something to make your neighborhood a less-likely target. When neighbors who are informed about crime prevention join together to take active ownership of what goes on in their neighborhood, the opportunities for burglars diminish.
It takes commitment to a good partnership among neighbors and between neighbors and police for this to happen.
How Does it Work?
When you and your neighbors sign up for Neighborhood Watch you form a partnership with each other and with the Corvallis Police Department. You and your neighbors agree to practice good home security measures, to keep an eye on each other's property, and report suspicious activity to the police. In turn, Corvallis Police provide you with crime prevention training and information.
Corvallis Police give you home security training at your startup meeting. Once your group is up and running we send you alerts that warn you about home burglaries in Corvallis, crime that may affect your neighborhood, confidence schemes, computer scams, and other topics to help you avoid becoming a victim of crime. And we provide you with window decals and street signs that let burglars know you are connected with the Corvallis Police and that you and your neighbors watch out for each other. We also send Neighborhood Watch members a quarterly newsletter with crime prevention tips and information on family safety and home security.
But real program success, for your neighborhood, is up to you and your neighbors. This means the program's social component is key to making Neighborhood Watch work. The more you and your neighbors get to know and talk with each other, the more you will take ownership of your neighborhood and look out for each other. For this reason, it is important for you and your neighbors to hold neighborhood functions to strengthen social ties and discuss neighborhood issues. We recommend you get together at least four times a year -- even if it is just for coffee and cookies and a half-hour of hellos and "Did you know…"
Having group members who are committed to each other makes it easier to have an effective Neighborhood Watch group and a safe neighborhood.
How Do I Start a Watch Group?
Starting a Neighborhood Watch Group is straightforward. Just contact the Corvallis Police Department by email at neighborhoodwatch@corvallisoregon.gov (preferred way to contact us) or at 766-6863. Along with your name, address, and phone number, tell us how many homes are in your neighborhood and we will send you brochures and invitations to a startup meeting that you can give to your neighbors. Then once you decide when and where you will hold your meeting, let us know and we'll facilitate your meeting.
In considering group size, remember the two major reasons why small is good. A small group allows for stronger social ties and it allows for direct lines of sight between neighbors' properties. It also means that group members know who and what kind of activity is usually in the neighborhood. This knowledge makes members better aware of unusual or suspicious behavior that they can then report to the Corvallis Police.
With this in mind, the Corvallis Police Department strongly recommends Neighborhood Watch groups limit their size to the homes on both sides of the street for one city block or to the homes lining a cul-de-sac. Sometimes, though, topography or street layout make a difference. In those instances group members need to decide what works best for them.
But in all cases, smaller is better than larger! Rather than stretch for a long block, continue over a hill, reach around a corner, or include everyone in a homeowners association, it is always best to divide into smaller groups even if that means one group will have just two, three, or four homes. Line of sight to a neighbor's home is a important as social ties: it is hard to honor a commitment to watch a neighbor's home when you can't see it. Conversely, it is not reassuring to rely on neighbors to watch your home when you know they can't see it.
During the meeting, we'll tell you all about the program and how to complete your group's registration with the Corvallis Police Department. We will give you information on home and personal security to get you going. We will give you information on home and personal security to get you going. We will walk you through steps you can take to protect your home and auto from intrusion, tell you how to safe-guard your valuables, and talk with you about ways to avoid identity theft. We will also provide you with window decals and street signs along with a selection of free brochures on a variety of crime prevention topics.
Neighborhood Watch is provided by the Corvallis Police Department free of any costs to member groups. Please join us in this program and help make your neighborhood and all of Corvallis a safer place to enjoy living in.
Neighborhood Watch Contact Information:
Corvallis Police Department
Neighborhood Watch Program
180 NW 5th Street
Corvallis, OR 97330
541-766-6863
neighborhoodwatch@corvallisoregon.gov (preferred method of contact)
Other Crime Prevention Programs
The Corvallis Police Department provides several other crime prevention programs that are also free of cost. For information, just click on these links.
