Neighborhood watch
Organized group of civilians dedicated to crime prevention / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Neighborhood watch (disambiguation).
This article is about contemporary law enforcement programme. For the historical formation, see city watch.
A neighborhood watch or neighbourhood watch (see spelling differences), also called a crime watch or neighbourhood crime watch, is an organized group of civilians devoted to crime and vandalism prevention within a neighborhood.
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![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/05/Neighbourhood_Watch_Sign%2C_Combat_Force_%28South_Africa%29.jpg/640px-Neighbourhood_Watch_Sign%2C_Combat_Force_%28South_Africa%29.jpg)
The aim of neighborhood watch includes educating residents of a community on security and safety and achieving safe and secure neighborhoods. However, when a criminal activity is suspected, members are encouraged to report to authorities, and not to intervene.
In the United States, neighborhood watch builds on the concept of a town watch from early American colonialism and the system of slavery and their slave patrols.[2]