Crime and fear of crime threaten a community's well-being -- people become afraid to use streets and parks, suspicion erupts between young and old, shops gradually leave. Crime in turn feeds on the social isolation it creates. Today's lifestyles -- many homes where both parents work, more single parent families, and greater job mobility -- can contribute to this isolation and weaken communities.

You and your neighbors can prevent or break this vicious cycle, and in the process, build your community into a safer, friendlier, and more caring place to live. Statistics tell the story. Police and sheriffs' departments in cities, small towns, and suburbs throughout the country report substantial decreases in crime and fear due to local crime prevention efforts.

Start with a Neighborhood Watch or block club to address immediate crime problems, focus on home security, and build neighborhood cohesion. Then move into other areas such as educating residents about child protection, drug abuse victim services, and domestic violence. Explore circumstances in the community that might contribute to crime -- the physical design of buildings, traffic patterns, drug trafficking, few jobs or recreational opportunities for teenagers, lack of affordable housing -- and look for long-range solutions.

Typically, Neighborhood Watch groups organize to respond to an immediate threat -- a series of rapes, a sharp increase in burglaries, rising fear of street crime. Often, when the crisis is resolved, membership and commitment to the Watch start to fade away. After all, why keep looking out for criminals if they've been arrested or gone elsewhere?

This short-sighted attitude ignores key benefits of the contemporary Neighborhood Watch -- a Watch group empowers people to prevent crime, forges bonds between law enforcement and the communities they serve, and builds a foundation for broader community improvement. Neighborhood Watch is far more than a quick fix for an immediate crisis -- it can be a moving force for positive changes that tackle root causes of crime.

1 Work with public agencies and other organizations - neighborhood-based or community-wide - on solving common problems. Don't be shy about letting them know what your community needs.

2 Make sure that all the youth in the neighborhood have positive ways to spend their spare time, through organized recreation, tutoring programs, part-time work, and volunteer opportunities.

3 Set up a Neighborhood Watch or a community patrol, working with police. Make sure your streets and homes are well lighted.

4 Build a partnership with police, focused on solving problems instead of reacting to crises. Make it possible for neighbors to report suspicious activity or crimes without fear of retaliation.

5 Take advantage of "safety in numbers" to hold rallies, marches, and other group activities to show you're determined to drive out crime and drugs.

6 Clean up the neighborhood! Involve everyone - teens, children, senior citizens. Graffiti, litter, abandoned cars, and run-down buildings tell criminals that you don't care about where you live or each other. Call the city public works department and ask for help in cleaning up.

7 Ask local officials to use new ways to get criminals out of your building or neighborhood. These include enforcing anti-noise laws, housing codes, health and fire codes, anti-nuisance laws, and drug-free clauses in rental leases.

8 Form a Court Watch to help support victims and witnesses and to see that criminals get fairly punished.

9 Work with schools to establish drug-free, gun-free zones; work with recreation officials to do the same for parks.

10 Develop and share a phone list of local organizations that can provide counseling, job training, guidance, and other services that neighbors might need.

If you are interested in starting a Neighborhood Watch or in renewing interest in an existing one contact the A.C.O.R.N. Neighborhood Association, or Beaumont Police Department Subject: Neighborhood Watch Program, or visit the National Neighborhood Watch Website about taking part TODAY!

Visit the Beaumont Police Department website at http://www.beaumontpd.com/