Quoting from Blockwatch.com:
The Block Watch program fights the isolation
and separation that crime creates and feeds
upon, forges bonds among area residents
and businesses, helps reduce burglaries and
other crime, and improves relations between
the police and the community they serve.
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The Block Watch Program was started in BC in 1986 in response to the concerns of citizens about crime. The program was modelled on a similar project in Seattle which was effective in reducing residential break and enters by up to 60 percent.
In 1993, the Block Watch Society was officially registered as a non-profit society. Since its inception the Block Watch Program of BC has been influential in reducing residential crime and promoting increased feelings of neighbourhood security.
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The Main objective of the Block Watch
Society of BC is to partner with communities
to build safer neighbourhoods by encouraging
residents to take a proactive approach to crime prevention and safety. Through education on target hardening, property marking and reporting suspicious activity, Block Watch provides a means for the community to take responsibility for its own safety by reducing the opportunity for crime.
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Block Watch Member programs operate under the mandate of the Block Watch Society who in turn provide:
Support, training, mentoring and materials to
police agencies & community programs.
Coordinate the link of community
programs to each other.
Provide ongoing training and sharing of best practices.
Work with police agencies to assist with problem-solving, suggesting and supporting strategies for positive change.
Focus on reducing the risk of property crime – particularly residential and auto crimes.
Block Watch operates through grants from the Ministry of Justice, as well as donations.
BLOCK WATCH PI
Block Watch started in BC in 1986 as a crime prevention program focused specifically on preventing and reducing residential break and enters, and thefts from residents.
Block Watch Programs in British Columbia are under the governance of the Block Watch Society of British Columbia, an organization that provides direction, training and materials to each member in the Program.
The majority of Block Watch programs operating across
the Province are partnered with municipalities and police detachments. The Society has the sole licence for the Program in BC.
The Program involves creating groups of strategically located neighbours who look out for their neighbours home and property as if it was their own. The program encourages them to get to know their neighbours, increase their level of vigilance and willingness to cooperate as a crime prevention group to prevent and report crime and suspicious behaviour to the police.
Block Watch has always been about building safe communities through the efforts and participation of the community members themselves. Its purpose is looking out for one another and working with the police to reduce crime.
This Program was one of the first, along with Citizens On Patrol, to utilize significant numbers of volunteers from the
community to assist police in crime reduction. This leads to a healthy and safe community.
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For more information or to join Block Watch contact by email or text: piblockwatch@gmail.com (250)716-1021
