Neighborhood Watch
If you would like to be added to our PQ eBLAST, please send an email to nhw@rpcouncil.com with “subscribe” in the subject line.
Additionally, the following documents may be of interest to you. Please take a look:
coming soon:
Solicitor Regulations (SDPD)
Problem Solver phone numbers (provided by Officer Steffen)
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12/13/11
Dear Neighbors,The Scripps Ranch Civic Association is making Neighborhood Watch signs available to Rancho Pensasquitos residents at a 15% discount relative to online cost. If you would like to purchase one (as a Neighborhood Watch Group or individual), Please contact Bob Ilko directly.
Here are the details on the signs:
* The 12″ x 18″ Neighborhood Watch sign costs $58.01 (including tax and mounting hardware)
* The checks should be made out to “SRCA” (Scripps Ranch Civic Association).
* Ready anytime for pick-up at 10247 Rue Touraine (SD 92131)
* Please contact Bob Ilko at srilko4@aol.com to set up a time.
We are also attempting to get funding from Councilwoman Lightner’s office to defray some or all of the costs of the signs. This funding is not guaranteed and we do not know when it will be granted. However, if you would like to wait, we should have an update from Stephen Heverly at the next town council meeting in January (Jan 5th at 7pm in the Double Tree Inn – www.rpcouncil.com).
If you would like to establish a Neighborhood Watch Group on your block or in your area, please contact our CRO, Officer Susan Steffen, and set up a meeting with her and your neighbors one evening. She has a specific presentation to teach neighbors how to set up a Neighborhood Watch on their block. At the meeting you and your neighbors will learn about the programs, roles and responsibilities, and you all can decide who best would serve as your block captain.
Community Relations Officer Susan Steffen • 858-538-8028 • ssteffen@pd.sandiego.gov
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11/30/11
PQ Neighborhood Watch Info Mtg Summary
I. Moderator Erik Marquis introduced the concept of Neighborhood Watch, it’s benefits, and the goals for the meeting:
Neighborhood Watch Program Goals:
1. To improve communication and coordination with Law Enforcement
2. Neighbors helping neighbors creates a safer and closer community.
Meeting Goals:
1. Explain what Neighborhood Watch (NHW) is and why it’s important.
2. To develop a partnership between existing NHW Block Captains and involved neighbors.
3. Recruit District Captains, Block Captains, and other interested neighbors.
(If you are already or are interested in becoming a block captain, please email Darshana Patel at anahsrad@yahoo.com. The PQ Towne Council would like to obtain a complete contact list of NHW Block Captains in our community for NHW communication purposes.)
II. Police Officer Susan Steffan spoke about NHW, police officers’ roles, and about how both can work together to help keep a community safe:
1. NHW provides education re: how to keep your person and home safe. See attached handouts:
1a. “Neighborhood Watch Skills”
Describes how to practice good observation skills and notice what is unusual, how to recognize suspicious activity, and what to report
to either 9-1-1 (emergency) or 858-484-3154/619-531-2000 (non-emergency) phone lines.
1b. “Physical Description Form”
A handout to help you know and document descriptive info that best helps the police identify the offender.
1c. “Solicitor Regulations”
A document that solicitors use to apply for a permit which also describes what solicitors legally can and cannot do.
(Note: It is ok to ask a solicitor to show their permit/license.)
2. Keep police non-emergency numbers (858-484-3154/619-531-2000) in your cell phone directory so that you can quickly call to report a suspicious person/activity. You can also use your phone to take a picture of that person/activity.
3. Report any suspicious activity immediately, as offenders tend to frequent neighborhoods that *don’t* notify the police of suspicious activity. It’s ok to report the same person seen loitering multiple times if the person keep returning. Even if the police are unable to arrest him/her, they will send an officer out to talk with the person and he/she will know they are being watched.
4. Reporting suspicious activity also provides the police with a reason to patrol your area.
Due to budget cutbacks, PQ is part of a 109 sq mile district of 240,000 residents served by only 8-12 officers. This area ranges from south of Miramar to San Pasqual, and includes Sorrento Valley, 4S Ranch, Sabre Springs and Ramona as well. It is the largest district in San Diego. Police officers are no longer assigned beats to patrol and build community relations; they are at an all time low in # of officers, are always below the “required” officer to population ratio, and must operate in a completely reactive mode. An organized NHW helps police be more effective by providing additional eyes and ears, and by providing a means of getting pertinent info to residents in a timely manner.
5. Neighborhood Watch Signs:
Scripps Ranch Towne Council has extra NHW signs and will make them available to us at their cost for $65 (small signs) or $80 (large signs) each. Sometimes your councilperson (Sherri Lightner) might be able to donate signs.
6. Graffiti/Tagging:
A private resident indicated that he volunteers to paint over graffiti/tagging in our community. This helps prevent gang warfare and discourages vandalism. Graffiti can be reported at http://www.sandiego.gov/graffiti/sighting.shtml.
III. Both the Rancho Bernardo and Scripps Ranch communities have robust NHW programs, each with one person who acts as a primary liaison to Susan Steffan, the police officer for our area. These liaisons spoke about their programs:
Rancho Bernardo Representative:
1. Primary function of NHW works via email communication. RB uses an email method similar to a phone tree to communicate important info. Info flows from the block captain to the district captain to the police officer and back again.
2. Holds quarterly NHW meetings.
3. Has direct line to police officer via district captain; when hear of crime committed, can find out what has really happened (not rumors) and then communicate back to community. Similarly, if suspicious activity is noticed, the block captain can call the district captain, who in turn calls the police officer directly.
4. Communicate amongst neighbors to keep eyes/ears open: ie, when go on vacation, when people are at work, etc. Get to know each other: note strange cars, people, etc. that don’t belong.
5. The posting of NWatch signs throughout RB is coordinated; direction is provided re: where signs should be hung.
Scripps Ranch Representative:
1. Uses email system, but a few designated people have the ability to notify thousands of people at once. Enables timely communication; at least one of the designated few people are likely to receive message and can send it out. Eliminates issue where one contact in the chain is away and unable to pass the message on in a timely fashion. (This is the method that the PQ Towne Council seeks to employ; PQTC plans to discuss further with Scripps Ranch Rep re: how they implemented their system.)
Scripps Ranch is also able to send messages targeted by street.
2. NHW also communicates via Facebook pages, email blasts, and a monthly newsletter. The newsletter is staffed full-time and paid for by advertising revenue.
3. Gives block captains freedom in how to meet NHW needs. In training new block captains, they don’t tell people how to do it, but instead let people tell how they want to do it.
4. The posting of NWatch signs throughout SR is more informal; signs are available to residents through the SR Towne Council. Residents hang signs themselves as see fit.
5. Holds annual mtgs with all block captains; hold more frequent mtgs with steering committee only.
6. 97% of burglaries in Scripps Ranch occurred on streets without an active Neighborhood Watch/block captain. Scripps Ranch has about 115 block captains.
