neighborhood watch thoughts?

[briandg]

maybe not the place to ask it. if not, delete or move.

How many actually participate in neighborhood watch programs?

When you do, do you go armed?

do your laws support a stand your ground scenario?

How deeply into the dark places will you go, how far into a confrontation will you go?

Do you carry non lethal force tools as well?

Myself, I do a watch sometimes. I do go armed, with a light and a phone. I will go down an alley. I say howdy to people. If I find a suspicious person, I will say howdy, call police, and observe if possible. I don't carry mace, my laws here will in principle support a clear case of self defense, even if I make first verbal contact with the other guy, like saying "hey, howdy, nice night. What are you doing with that crowbar?" In any case, that particular scenario would clearly fit into the principle of not poking the bear and letting licensed professionals handle the intervention.

[JohnKSa]

When you do, do you go armed?

Neighborhood Watch is not about "going" anywhere, it's primarily about "identifying and reporting suspicious activity", building community awareness and establishing a cooperative relationship between a community and local law enforcement.

Myself, I do a watch sometimes. I do go armed, with a light and a phone. I will go down an alley. I say howdy to people. If I find a suspicious person, I will say howdy, call police, and observe if possible. I don't carry mace, my laws here will in principle support a clear case of self defense, even if I make first verbal contact with the other guy, like saying "hey, howdy, nice night. What are you doing with that crowbar?" In any case, that particular scenario would clearly fit into the principle of not poking the bear and letting licensed professionals handle the intervention.

That's not at all what Neighborhood Watch programs teach. Neighborhood watch doesn't encourage participants to patrol/roam the neighborhood looking for suspicious activity.

https://www.nnw.org/about-neighborhood-watch

I'm not saying you shouldn't patrol your neighborhood; I'm just not sure that kind of activity is relevant to what Neighborhood Watch programs teach.

[MTT TL]

Neighborhood WATCH. As in watch and report suspicious activity.

Not neighborhood security.

Not neighborhood contact and engage suspicious looking folks in conversation.

Somebody that is up to no good could be dangerous. Somebody who is engaging in perfectly normal behavior that you may not understand (and therefore you find suspicious) might believe you to be dangerous to them and therefore become dangerous to you. Let the police take the risks, that is what they are for.

You don't want to end up like Zimmerman chased through the courts for years with the media looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life waiting for him to screw up.


Gated communities are becoming more and more common these days. I have to say that from a crime perspective they are worth it. Most crime in these areas tend to run to either out of control teens living in the area or whatever people bring with them in to the home. They make community watch really easy too.

But so far as being armed while on community watch? Absolutely. I carry all the time in public anyway, so why would I not?

My state is a stand your ground state.

[Frank Ettin]

Off topic.