We had a great turnout for the first meeting of the Neighborhood Watch Program being instituted in the Denby Park, Oakdale Farms & Monticello Village areas. There were over 20 people at the meeting and many more signed up but could not make the meeting.
The Norfolk Police Crime Prevention Unit gave an excellent and informative presentation on crime prevention and neighborhood watch. A lot of information passed both ways, police to citizen/citizen to police, and we all look forward to working together to reduce crime in our area.
The group agreed to meet the last Tuesday of each month at the Workforce Development Center, starting with the 26th of August, at 6:30 pm. Some guidelines and ground rules were given and people signed up to be Block Captains and Watchers.
All the civic leagues and neighborhoods in the Greater Wards Corner Area Partnership are encouraged to send representatives to these meetings. As the criminal activity is pushed out of the West Little Creek Road area the other neighborhoods around should have watch programs in place to force the criminal activity out of the Greater Wards Corner Area.
The goals of the monthly meetings will be to:
- Help each neighborhood develop a watch program tailored to it’s own needs and to offer support as needed.
- Allow ideas and problems to be shared among the Partnership neighborhoods allowing us to work together as one to reduce crime.
- Promote safer neighborhoods and retail areas for our residents to live, play and shop.
- Make communication between communities and police more efficient and effective in reducing crime in the Partnership area.
- Communicate to our elected officials in a larger and more unified voice the needs of the Partnership area to help reduce crime in our community.
- Work in unison with the Greater Wards Corner Area Partnership general meeting group and the Wards Corner Task Force for the revitalization of the Wards Corner area.
Other areas of the city are currently working with the police to reduce crime in their neighborhoods and it is imperative that we move forward with this neighborhood watch program for the Partnership area or you may see an increase in criminal activity here. We want the criminals out of Norfolk not just moved around our city.
Thank you,
Tim Smith
Wards Corner Now - Wards Corner, Norfolk, Virginia 
I’m really glad this was a successful meeting. I hope it continues to grow. Good job Tim, keep up the good work.
Elyse,
Thank you. The true driving force behind the watch program is Beverly and Rebecca. They live in Denby Park and see everyday first hand what we only hear about in the paper and at the meetings, and plenty more we don’t ever hear about.
Their drive, determination and energy level is what brought me into this. I can only hope that our elected officials get more motivated to become as active in this effort as I have. Maybe they will show up at the meetings and see first hand what the residents are doing, and not just during an election year.
Our group only needs to get commitments from City Hall to make this program work to it’s greatest potential, the citizens and law enforcement are already in agreement.
Neighborhood watch is a live and well!! A resident today saw some people breaking into someone else’s house and called the police. The law breakers were apprehended by the police, three people is my understanding. Thanks to all the neighbors who are helping each other.