This page will give you a quick overview of how Neighborhood Watch works with the El Paso County Sheriff's Office:
Why start a Neighborhood Watch group?
For citizens to make themselves, their families and their homes less vulnerable to crime.
To increase cooperation between citizens and law enforcement, making the community safer.
Unfortunately, EPSO cannot be everywhere at once. Like other agencies, we have limited resources. At any given time there may be only 1 deputy for an entire district in our county. There are 8 districts in El Paso County which covers 2158 square miles. Neighborhood Watch can help deter crime which helps the EPSO which helps the community.
There are many benefits when you form a Neighborhood Watch group:
You will become better acquainted with the people in your neighborhood.
You will learn new ways to make your home and family safer.
You will be better prepared to proactively respond to suspicious or criminal activity.
Criminals will know that you will not tolerate crime in your neighborhood. By looking out for each other, securing homes, posting Neighborhood Watch signs and reporting suspicious activity, you make your community less attractive for potential criminals.
There are 3 main responsibilities of Neighborhood Watch members:
BE OBSERVANT
- Keep an eye out for your neighbors and their property as well as your own.
- Be familiar with people who have reasons to be in the area.
- What is suspicious behavior? Learn to recognize and report it.
COMMUNICATION
- When you see suspicious activity, share that information with our deputies, but share with each other as well.
- For emergencies call 911, for non-emergencies call 390-5555.
- To report crimes that a deputy does not need to respond, you can call the telephone reporting system at 520-7111.
- To leave tips on drug activity, wanted persons or other suspicious behaviors, call the Crime Reduction Unit tip line at 520-7777.
- If you want to report speeding or any traffic related incident you can leave a message on the traffic hotline at 520-7192.
SECURITY
- Subscribe to the "Broken Window" theory - if things aren't fixed and it appears that people don't care about their community, criminals will feel comfortable there.
How to get a group started:
There should be at least 5 homes from the same street, road or cul-de-sac interested in participating.
Your group should at least try to meet 3-4 times per year. Examples of meetings include Potlucks, Barbecues, National Night Out, HOA meetings, etc.
- We can provide a speaker to come to your meetings. EPSO has a speaker's bureau that can provide education a broad range of topics.
Each group should elect one Block Captain for every 5-10 homes. That person will be responsible for relaying information to members, keep a current contact list and helping coordinate meetings and events. The Block Captain will be the point of contact between the group and the EPSO.
There should be an established method for Block Captains to communicate with members.
Keep the Crime Prevention Coordinator updated with changes or if your group has any specific concerns or issues. You can tell us about your meetings or events and we will try to attend whenever possible.
EPSO will provide Neighborhood Watch signs which will be put up by the DOT. This way, we can make sure that they are properly placed and in a safe location.
How to keep your program going strong
Organize neighborhood picnics, holiday gatherings, BBQs etc.
Hold a clean-up day.
Volunteer in the community or attend classes, such as the CERT program or Citizen's Academy.
Participate in National Night Out, always held nationwide on the first Tuesday in August. The goal of NNO is to send the message to criminals that they are not wanted in our communities.
Why start a Neighborhood Watch group?
For citizens to make themselves, their families and their homes less vulnerable to crime.
To increase cooperation between citizens and law enforcement, making the community safer.
Unfortunately, EPSO cannot be everywhere at once. Like other agencies, we have limited resources. At any given time there may be only 1 deputy for an entire district in our county. There are 8 districts in El Paso County which covers 2158 square miles. Neighborhood Watch can help deter crime which helps the EPSO which helps the community.
There are many benefits when you form a Neighborhood Watch group:
You will become better acquainted with the people in your neighborhood.
You will learn new ways to make your home and family safer.
You will be better prepared to proactively respond to suspicious or criminal activity.
Criminals will know that you will not tolerate crime in your neighborhood. By looking out for each other, securing homes, posting Neighborhood Watch signs and reporting suspicious activity, you make your community less attractive for potential criminals.
There are 3 main responsibilities of Neighborhood Watch members:
BE OBSERVANT
- Keep an eye out for your neighbors and their property as well as your own.
- Be familiar with people who have reasons to be in the area.
- What is suspicious behavior? Learn to recognize and report it.
COMMUNICATION
- When you see suspicious activity, share that information with our deputies, but share with each other as well.
- For emergencies call 911, for non-emergencies call 390-5555.
- To report crimes that a deputy does not need to respond, you can call the telephone reporting system at 520-7111.
- To leave tips on drug activity, wanted persons or other suspicious behaviors, call the Crime Reduction Unit tip line at 520-7777.
- If you want to report speeding or any traffic related incident you can leave a message on the traffic hotline at 520-7192.
SECURITY
- Subscribe to the "Broken Window" theory - if things aren't fixed and it appears that people don't care about their community, criminals will feel comfortable there.
How to get a group started:
There should be at least 5 homes from the same street, road or cul-de-sac interested in participating.
Your group should at least try to meet 3-4 times per year. Examples of meetings include Potlucks, Barbecues, National Night Out, HOA meetings, etc.
- We can provide a speaker to come to your meetings. EPSO has a speaker's bureau that can provide education a broad range of topics.
Each group should elect one Block Captain for every 5-10 homes. That person will be responsible for relaying information to members, keep a current contact list and helping coordinate meetings and events. The Block Captain will be the point of contact between the group and the EPSO.
There should be an established method for Block Captains to communicate with members.
Keep the Crime Prevention Coordinator updated with changes or if your group has any specific concerns or issues. You can tell us about your meetings or events and we will try to attend whenever possible.
EPSO will provide Neighborhood Watch signs which will be put up by the DOT. This way, we can make sure that they are properly placed and in a safe location.
How to keep your program going strong
Organize neighborhood picnics, holiday gatherings, BBQs etc.
Hold a clean-up day.
Volunteer in the community or attend classes, such as the CERT program or Citizen's Academy.
Participate in National Night Out, always held nationwide on the first Tuesday in August. The goal of NNO is to send the message to criminals that they are not wanted in our communities.
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