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Neighborhood Watch is one of the oldest and most effective crime prevention programs in the country, bringing citizens together
with law enforcement to deter crime and make communities safer.
Sponsored by the National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA), Neighborhood Watch can trace its roots back to the days of colonial settlements, when night watchmen patrolled the
streets. The modern version of Neighborhood Watch was developed in response to requests from sheriffs and police chiefs who
were looking for a crime prevention program that would involve citizens and address an increasing number of burglaries.
Launched in 1972, Neighborhood Watch counts on citizens to organize themselves and work with law enforcement to keep a trained
eye and ear on their communities, while demonstrating their presence at all times of day and night. (The program took off
quickly: in just ten years, NSA data showed that 12 percent of the population was involved in a Neighborhood Watch.) Neighborhood
Watch works because it reduces opportunities for crime to occur; it doesn’t rely on altering or changing the criminal’s behavior
or motivation.
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