As a captain, I have been involved in West Hollywood’s Neighborhood Watch program for over five years now. I am also a current Public Safety Commissioner, so I have had the opportunity to visit Neighborhood Watch groups across the city over the course of time. As a resident of West Hollywood, I’ve been had true hands-on experience to form my own opinion about the Neighborhood Watch and its value to the citizens of WeHo.
If you are not familiar with the Neighborhood Watch program, I suggest visiting the city website for more information. This link gives you much info about crime stats, your local group and other useful info about crime prevention. But here I wanted to briefly touch on my own views of two aspects of the Watch groups that have proven to be useful to our residents as well as helping prevent crime.
The first one shouldn’t be easily overlooked: Your Neighborhood Watch group provides a core of community on your block. Getting to know the people on your block and their concerns while regularly meeting together helps build a true sense of community right where you live. It provides a brainstorming and action group for the issues on your block. When you meet together even a few times a year, it’s easier to exchange ideas or information and get comfortable talking with the people next door about block safety. This meshes with the second positive aspect…
Your local Neighborhood Watch group puts you in regular contact with both the executive and the legislative branches of your city government as well as law enforcement — the executive branch through the city’s public safety, code enforcement, rent control and other city departments, whose representatives may also attend your meetings. The legislative contact comes via the City Council deputies who attend the same meetings – and quite often the actual council members as their schedules permit. Lastly, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Station in West Hollywood has its specially formed COPPS group whose members attend every local meeting to hear your concerns and deliver crime statistics for your block.
These two qualities — community strength and government contact — are the primary value of the Neighborhood Watch groups for the citizens of West Hollywood.. Residents with an intimate knowledge of their own blocks assemble and share concerns with one another and receive information from their own government and law enforcement representatives. This is a way to better the area where you live.
I am proud of the way the most organized groups in West Hollywood have dealt with the concerns of their micro-communities. But even the most skeletal Neighborhood Watch group provides an outpost people of the block can come to .
I encourage you to contact the group on your block and become involved by attending the regular meetings. Find the group on your block by clicking here. If you find there isn’t yet a group that covers your street, contact the city official who coordinates Neighborhood Watch at (323) 848-6831 and ask how you can be involved in starting a meeting on your block.
You may also want to visit a group from a different part of West Hollywood to see what it’s all about. You can contact me personally if you’d like to learn about Neighborhood Watch or how you can make your own Neighborhood Watch group better.
Shawn Hoffman is a member of West Hollywood’s Public Safety Commission, although he emphasizes that these are his opinions and aren’t stated on behalf of the City of West Hollywood or its Public Safety Commission.
Neighborhood watch has never helped me. My cars and stuff have been vandalized many times and also my lawn was set on fire. A woman outside of town riding by informed me while people walking outside who live in my neighborhood did absolutely nothing. I hate neighborhood watch.
Thank you Shawn. Didn’t realize there wasn’t a watch in our neighborhood. I was totally surprised. I called and will set one up ASAP. Thanks again. Brian
ditto on the importance of Neighborhood Watch groups & knowing your neighbors. I re-started the Genesee Avenue NW I think back in 2002 or 2003 & it’s now expanded (roughly Fairfax to Vista & Santa Monica to Fountain) to cover a large chunk of the Eastside….and we’re known as the SoFo (south of Fountain) Neighborhood Watch.
Great op-ed. Thank you Shawn for promoting the Neighborhood Watch groups and your well balanced, thoughtful approach.