Cactus Village Community

Neighborhoods Active vs Inactive "Westown Watch" article

Jul 10, 2003

Do you know the difference between an active and inactive neighborhood? Have you ever been a victim of a crime in a neighborhood such as burglary, vandalism or auto theft? Have you ever contemplated moving because you were sick of it?

Of course an active neighborhood has crime. There is crime everywhere in the country. It is a fact that neighborhoods that have an active block watch have less crime than a neighborhood that the block watch is either not active or non-existent. Phoenix has statistics that show that a neighborhood with an active block watch has less crime in tneir area than an inactive one.

It also shows that neighborhood block watch life expectancy is 5 years (active) and the main reason that they wither away is because there are usually small groups of people that are active and they get burnt out trying to keep a show of presence in the neighborhood. If more people were involved then there would be less to do for each person and the block watch would survive for a longer period of time.

Hoodlums, cowards and thieves prey upon neighborhoods with inactive block watches because it is easier to get away with what they do... .steal. Steal your personal items and your dignity. Vandalize your surroundings and your home, make you not trust anyone and be reclusive. That is no way to live. There are many block watches in the city that have become inactive and the areas now are becoming overridden with crime. People putting bars on their windows and some moving to other neighborhoods with an active block watch like ours. There are neighborhoods that are surrounded by crime but it stays out of their neighborhood because they are very active in the neighborhood and they have all come together to keep it out of their neighborhood. A good example would be Roosevelt District and their block watch.

Westown is fortunate to have one of the most active block watches in the city, but without more people taking an active role it might not stay that way. Westown does a lot around our neighborhood including helping the elderly and disabled, Youth and Adult Center, partner with the school on many grants and fundraisers, cleanups, patrolling the neighborhood, awareness through this newsletter, and much more. Westown also promotes fun with the parade and the annual GAIN event in October. We need some fresh faces in our crowd. We need some more people to step up and help in the fight to keep our neighborhoods safe a better place for our families to grow up in. Won?’t you make a little time out of your busy schedules to get involved before you are a victim? Call the hotline at 602-234-6161 and make a difference!. . .☺