Neighborhood Watch Awards

2011 Neighborhood Watch Awards of Excellence

Excellence by a Sheriff’s Office
The Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office, Louisiana has over 130,000 residents and is respon¬sible for over 1300 square miles. Though rural, the office faces many of the same problems normally associated with urban areas. Over the last three years the office has worked to coordinate their efforts in the community through regular “Town Hall” meetings scheduled in the parish. When a community called Kolin-Ruby experienced a rash of burglaries, the office responded to the residents quickly by setting up a neighborhood watch and leveraging their coordination with the Louisiana State Police and the United States Marshals Service. As a result of the coordinated efforts of the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office and the neighborhood watch, the burglars were arrested and convicted. Since then the office, led by Sheriff Wag¬ner, has realized the power of involving the community in not only crime reporting, but crime prevention and maintaining an open line of communication.

Excellence by a Police Department
Rockledge Police Department, Florida aims to prevent crime for citizens and businesses through partnering with each other. In this 12.2 square mile community, the department has maintained 122 active neighborhood watch groups that cover 350 streets, 143 busi¬ness watch programs, and partnered with the public sanitation workers to create a program called City Watch. In the last 18 months the department’s programs have helped to increase calls of suspicious incidents by 20 percent. Building collaborative partnerships within the community has helped to apprehend a bank robber, suppress counterfeit bills, assist a citi¬zen attacked by a pit bull, and much more. Further, the Police department has recognized more than 80 youth and seniors for their positive contributions in the community.

Excellence by a Neighborhood Watch
The Morris Hill Neighborhood Association is comprised of over 1,000 households and 300 businesses in one area of Boise, Idaho. Morris Hill is not a Homeowner’s Association nor do the require membership dues. Their mission is to build a sense of neighborhood com¬munity, promote a safe and healthy neighborhood environment, and maintain and protect the uniqueness of their neighborhood. Throughout the year the group is actively participat¬ing in their community by distributing crime prevention educational materials, organizing an Annual Crime Prevention Walk-A-Thon, creating Welcome Wagon Gift Bags for the over 50% of the neighborhood that is rental property, participating in the citizen’s patrol program, coordinating an e-mail list serve, and participating in ongoing training on a multitude of top¬ics. Working closely with the Boise Police Department the group’s efforts have been recog-nized many times locally. By having a constant and positive presence in the neighborhood, Morris Hill has not only achieved the goal of creating a strong community, but has helped to decrease crime in the community by 30 percent.