Neighborhood Watch

Who wouldn’t want to live comfortably in a clean and safe environment? As a resident, you can help make that happen by joining a neighborhood watch team. Neighborhood watch involves working together with the municipality, the police, the housing authority, and other community organizations to ensure a livable and safe neighborhood where it’s pleasant to live. On this page, you can read more about neighborhood watch and how to sign up as a neighborhood watch member or coordinator.

What is neighborhood watch?

Neighborhood watch is a form of social surveillance carried out by residents in their own neighborhood. They do this out of a sense of shared responsibility for the quality of life and safety in their own living environment. Examples include:

• engage in conversation with (idle) youth
• Identifying and reporting unsafe or suspicious situations in and around homes
• reporting drug-related disturbances
• Identifying and reporting unsafe traffic situations
• monitoring of residences during prolonged absences of residents
• Identifying cars that have been parked (illegally) for an extended period of time

Working together to create a safe neighborhood where it’s nice to live

The municipality of Moerdijk views residents as key partners in creating safe and livable neighborhoods. In neighborhood watch programs, residents volunteer their time to support their own neighborhoods. The goal is to increase informal surveillance. Social oversight increases, which contributes to a greater sense of safety. Residents who participate in a neighborhood watch team take responsibility for safety and livability in their neighborhood. Getting to know one another, knowing where to find each other, and being able to approach one another are very important in this regard.

Neighborhood Watch is part of a network in your neighborhood and is not a project run solely by residents, the municipality, or the police. The success of Neighborhood Watch depends in part on cooperation among these groups.

Want to participate?

Would you also like to help make Moerdijk a livable and safe place? If so, please sign up using the button below.

Is there not yet a neighborhood watch team active in your neighborhood? If not, we can help you start one. 

What is expected of you?

As a member of a neighborhood watch team, you are willing to walk through the neighborhood regularly (or at agreed-upon times). During their rounds, neighborhood watch members serve as extra eyes and ears, but behave like “ordinary” residents. Neighborhood watch members take no risks whatsoever and limit themselves to reporting suspicious individuals and/or situations to the relevant professional organizations or the coordinator. Members of a neighborhood watch team can also participate in ongoing police projects or special operations. The strength of neighborhood watch lies in showing a united front by being out and about together. However, residents who wish to report suspicious situations from their own homes can also participate in a neighborhood watch project.

How does it work?

• Every neighborhood watch team has a coordinator; this is an active neighborhood resident who serves as a point of contact for professional organizations, such as the police and the municipality. The neighborhood watch coordinator is the team’s primary point of contact and ensures that the team is kept informed about how reports are being handled.
• Neighborhood Watch members decide among themselves who will serve as the point person and how and when they prefer to carry out their activities together. The coordinator ensures that the Neighborhood Watch members know what is expected of them and when (including drawing up schedules).
• The community police officer serves as the point of contact for local reports regarding police-related matters identified by the neighborhood watch team. These reports are recorded in the police’s registration system. The community police officer keeps the neighborhood watch team informed, through the coordinator, about how the reports are being handled.
• The neighborhood watch team can contact the police (immediately), even when the community police officer is off duty. If there are any disturbances that require immediate attention, neighborhood watch members can call. In emergencies, of course, dial 112.
• The municipality processes reports regarding public spaces submitted by the neighborhood watch team and provides updates on their progress. In addition, the municipality makes various materials and resources available, such as “Neighborhood Watch” signs, flashlights, safety vests, notepads, and meeting rooms. The neighborhood watch team may make use of these resources as needed.