Wheeling-Ohio County Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency

Neighborhood Watch

Neighborhood Watch is another way for citizens to support law enforcement through community policing. By gathering a group of local residents to take an active part in crime prevention, volunteers are making communities safer. Neighborhood Watch groups educate their communities about crime and ways to prevent it. They act as extra eyes and ears for the police department. This program also encourages people to take a proactive approach to crime. In neighborhoods with watch programs, suspicious behavior is reported more quickly and frequently. In turn, this reduces crime in these areas.

Mission
USAonwatch through Neighborhood Watch empowers citizens in our communities with an opportunity to volunteer to work toward the safety of our homeland.

History
USAonwatch was created by the National Sheriffs' Association, in conjunction with several well-known federal agencies, to encourage the initiation and/or revitalization of Neighborhood Watch programs throughout the country. One of the oldest and best known crime prevention concepts in history, Neighborhood Watch was created to unite law enforcement agencies, private organizations, and individual citizens in a massive effort to reduce residential crime. USAonwatch is used not only to promote Neighborhood Watches, but also to record the number of Neighborhood Watches started. President Bush asked the National Sheriffs' Association to double the number of Neighborhood Watch groups by January 2004.

Volunteering
Contact the Wheeling Police Department for more information on volunteering through Neighborhood Watch.