By Khalida Sarwari
Saratoga may soon get more Neighborhood Watch groups if the city has its way.
The idea was brought up for consideration by the Public Safety Task Force at its meeting this week, where members discussed strategies and best practices to boost Saratoga’s Neighborhood Watch program over the next year. To date, the city has 63 Neighborhood Watch groups serving a population of about 30,000.
The task force discussed identifying regions without a watch group, conducting outreach in those areas to solicit interest from the community and partnering with the city’s Community Emergency Response Team to gather all Neighborhood Watch leaders for a meeting in February. In addition, the task force created a subcommittee that includes a few of its own members to identify potential boundaries of new groups.
The discussion identified the many ways that the city would help new watch groups get on their feet. Once a group establishes its boundary, the city would help schedule an orientation with the sheriff’s office and would offer a $300 grant to help the group jump-start activities. The Public Works Department would then work with the neighborhood to install Neighborhood Watch signage.
According to a city report presented at the November meeting, 29 neighborhood watch groups received funding last year, and so far this year, 13 grants have been issued. The grants can be used for block parties, miscellaneous supplies and to offset the cost of security cameras on private property.
The task force also discussed best practices that have been gleaned from existing Neighborhood Watch groups. Some of those include having city staff meet individually with residents who may be interested in forming a group to provide guidance and go over the process with them; requiring existing groups to hold social gatherings at least once a year; and remaining in contact with groups through its leaders or directly with all members. The task force was also encouraged to consider a requirement that each group designate at least one person to participate in CERT.
Two neighboring communities with burgeoning Neighborhood Watch programs were cited as examples that the city of Saratoga may look to emulate. Cupertino, according to the report, has an extensive Neighborhood Watch program with a total of 271 such groups serving twice the population of Saratoga. The other is Los Gatos, which boasts 20 groups and a population similar to Saratoga. All three municipalities cover approximately the same geographic area.
While the two model communities have their differences in the way their programs are run, it appears they both are staffed by at least one coordinator, either on a part or full time basis, that oversees the program.
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