Anthem Neighborhood Watch Block Captains

 

Anthem Neighborhood Watch recruits block captains, assistant block captains, and members in all of Anthem’s 96 neighborhoods. Block captains and members are the "eyes and ears" of Anthem in reporting suspicious activity or persons to our law enforcement partners. Forming a Neighborhood Watch Block Watch is the foundation for community crime prevention; it launches the idea of “Neighbors Watching Out for Neighbors.”

Getting Started

  • Get to know your neighborhood by checking out a map of all the streets.
  • Volunteer as a block captain.
  • Plan a get-together and choose a date, time and place that is convenient.
  • If you would like, ANW can have invite flyers made for you. All you need to do is indicate how many you need and all the details: who, what, where and when.
  • Flyers are also available on the ANW web site under "Documents" if you wish to make your own.
  • ANW can arrange for a law enforcement officer or NV Posse member to come to your first get-together to discuss crime prevention.
  • Publicize your meeting at least one week in advance with door-to-door fliers. Contact as many of your neighbors as possible, all family members are welcome.

Conducting the First Meeting
The first meeting can be as informal or formal as you want. Block Captains have served everything from coffee, donuts, lemonade and cookies to barbeques, hotdogs, hot chocolate or a light snack; the planning is totally up to the new block captain. Here are some other helpful hints:

  • Help everyone become acquainted and introduce the law enforcement officer.
  • Start a list of names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses, etc., so your neighbors can be in touch with each other.
  • It’s also good for people to discuss school and work schedules and whether they are home a lot or gone, or whether they  use burglar alarms, timers or lights.
  • Try to enlist others to take part as co-block captains or additional block captains of streets if your neighborhood is large. Assistant Block Captains help the Block Captain cover the neighborhood and help set-up meetings and get-togethers.
  • The invited law enforcement officer will want to discuss any problems or topics of interest to the group, such as crimes of opportunity, vacation watch and crime trends in the area.

Additional Information

  • Block Captains act as liaisons with Anthem Neighborhood Watch. Attendance at some ANW monthly meetings is encouraged because the amount of crime prevention information provided at these meetings helps keep neighbors informed. It’s a good idea to keep a log of neighborhood members, e-mails or telephone numbers so you can provide this information to your neighbors.
  • Encourage neighbors to sign up for eNews from ANW.
  • Plan one to two meetings or get-togethers every year to keep the Watch active. One event that takes place in October is GAIN (Getting AZ Involved in Neighborhoods). ANW and our Block Captains plan GAIN events in their neighborhoods and bring community leaders to visit.
  • Encourage neighbors to report information to ANW quickly at anthemwatch [at] yahoo [dot] com after reporting it to law enforcement. This information is shared with all ANW members.
  • ANW gathers facts about crimes in Anthem, checks with law enforcement for details, and alerts members to be alert and proactive in crime prevention.
  • ANW participates in community activities such as Anthem Days, Autumnfest and Getting Arizona Involved in Neighborhoods to promote crime prevention efforts.