Sheriff L. C. Knight believes that it is important to have open lines of communication with the communities we serve.
Our Business Watch and Neighborhood Watch programs serve to establish and maintain this critical two-way dialogue.
What is a Neighborhood or Business Watch?
Business Neighborhood Watch are 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. As police officers, we cannot be everywhere at once, so we depend on the community to act as our eyes and ears when we are not present. Who knows better, what is going on in the community than the citizens that live or work there?
Sponsored by the National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA), Business and 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, Business and 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. 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.
