Report suspicious and criminal behavior immediately by calling 911, or anonymously by calling Crime Stoppers at 800-494-TIPS or texting TIP to CRIME (27463).
History:

The creation of the Neighborhood Crime Watch Program in 1985 was an event signaling the Boston Police Department’s new approach to reducing the fear in Boston’s neighborhoods. Chris Hayes, who would become a nationally recognized pioneer in crime watch circles, equipped with a desk and a telephone, began on his own the task of re-connecting neighbors with each other and empowering them to make and keep their own streets inhospitable to crime. Nineteen years of employing every imaginable method of promoting and enhancing this basic idea have resulted in more streets, more neighborhoods, and more individuals reached by the Neighborhood Crime Watch Program than ever anticipated.

The Neighborhood Crime Watch Unit was first situated within the Department’s Bureau of Neighborhood Services, along with an array of other specialized police units, under the leadership of Superintendent Joseph C. Carter. The bureau evolved along with a changing department to become the Bureau of Special Operations for a period of several years. Under the continued guidance and foresight of Superintendent Carter the program was for 1992 and part of 1993 in the Office of the Police Commissioner. In early 1993 it came under the leadership of the Bureau of Field Services and has continued under the Bureau of Field Services, currently headed by Superintendent Robert Dunford.  Under Superintendent Dunford we have also taken on some responsibility for educating the community about Homeland Security. 

The unit staff has been as large as six people and is currently four.  Since 1985 the unit has helped over 1,284 crime watches get started. These crime watches have developed new or stronger partnerships with neighbors and police, businesses, service providers, and the courts. In 2005, 471 community meetings were attended by the staff. Of those, 220 were specifically crime watch meetings run by the staff in people’s homes in each and every neighborhood of the city. Twenty new neighborhood crime watch groups were added in 2005 and 33 groups were reactivated.  In 2006 we will continue to focus on reactivating old neighborhood crime watch groups as well as starting new ones.
Neighbors come together and are trained to work with the police and each other to rid their neighborhoods of specific crime problems, but they also address ongoing quality-of-life issues and learn other, more general crime prevention methods. Most importantly, their efforts strengthen and stabilize their neighborhoods as they tailor methods of long-term problem solving to their unique combination of people, obstacles and opportunities.

The Neighborhood Crime Watch Unit is committed to continuing to assist in implementing Neighborhood Policing, an initiative which builds in part on the strengths of the Neighborhood Crime Watch Program. The program’s constituency has developed successful crime prevention strategies in neighborhoods and crime watch members are active participants in the development and implementation of Neighborhood Policing in Boston.  The Neighborhood Crime Watch Unit often acts as a liaison between the community and the police, frequently helping to develop a conduit for neighborhood feedback and intelligence to the district.

The Neighborhood Crime Watch Unit’s mission remains true to its original aim. Groups formed in 1985 and the years since continue to receive support and services. The challenge to undertake any activity or task that will contribute to safer neighborhoods is eagerly accepted because of our core belief that if residents begin to feel safe then they are on the road to being safe.

MISSION: TO DETER CRIME AND REDUCE FEAR

Our mission is to develop and maintain crime watch groups in every neighborhood in Boston; to provide these groups with the necessary skills and tools to act as organized, empowered groups that work with the police to deter crime and reduce fear; to aid groups in networking with nearby or affiliated groups; and to provide guidance and support in developing community impact on the courts.

NEIGHBORHOOD CRIME WATCH BASICS

The first thing any Boston resident who wants to start a crime watch will do is to ask one of our coordinators to a meeting of neighbors. Usually this meeting is held in a home and we provide the host with meeting notices to distribute to neighbors. At the first few meetings we help the group to:
1.  Get to know and feel comfortable with one another
2.  Identify the specific crime issues currently affecting the neighborhood
3.  Establish a telephone network among neighbors.
4.  Learn to rely on one another when traveling to and from their homes, and to respond   effectively to a signal for help
5.  Establish procedures for contacting police regarding incidents and how to follow up on  them
6.  Take control of street lighting, trash, shrub-trimming and other maintenance issues
7.  Adopt basic home security measures
8.  Learn the skills and attitudes to operate as an organized and empowered crime watch  group.

Once the basics are established a group has the tools to be an effective crime watch. Residents usually tailor these skills to meet the specific needs of their street. By monitoring crime incidents residents will know when and where to be especially vigilant. While an effective crime watch will not completely eliminate crime, it will surely deter crime and reduce fear. A strong crime watch neighborhood is one that is very hard for a criminal to pass through undetected. Neighbors who are trained to react make their street inhospitable to someone intent on committing a crime.

WIDESPREAD INTEREST IN CRIME WATCH

The Neighborhood Crime Watch Program has trained over 65,000 residents across the city to use simple and effective methods to deter crime and reduce fear. Many communities in the greater Boston area have recognized that reducing crime requires that residents be involved and have requested our assistance in developing crime watches. Those communities include Beverly, Billerica, Chelsea, Everett, Haverhill, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, Malden and Milton. In fact, police departments and universities from many parts of the globe have requested our help to develop healthier and safer communities. International queries have come form Australia, Azerbaijan, Canada, Czechoslovakia, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Jordan, Mexico, Taiwan, and New Zealand.

For more information please contact:
Carolyn MacNeil, Director
Neighborhood Crime Watch Unit
Boston Police  Department
617-343-4345
macneilc.bpd@cityofboston.gov