NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH

Sign denoting a Neighborhood Watch area in Canberra, Australia.

A 'neighborhood watch' (also called a 'crime watch' or 'neighborhood crime watch') is a citizens' organization devoted to crime and vandalism prevention within a neighborhood. It is not a vigilante organization, since members are expected not to directly intervene in possible criminal activity. Instead, neighborhood watch members are to stay alert to unusual activity and contact the authorities. It builds on the concept of a ''town watch'' from Colonial America.
The current American system of neighborhood watches began developing in the late 1960s as a response to the rape and murder of Kitty Genovese in Queens, New York. People became outraged after reports that three dozen witnesses did nothing to save Genovese or to apprehend her killer. Some locals formed groups to watch over their neighborhoods and to look out for any suspicious activity in their areas. Shortly thereafter, the National Sheriffs' Association began a concerted effort in 1972 to revitalize the "watch group" effort nationwide[1].

Neighborhood Watch organizations outside the U.S.

International Neighborhood Watch Organisations