Warren County Neighborhood Watch had its first meeting last week to encourage the establishment of those programs throughout the county.
In attendance at the meeting were Jonathan Womack, who was instrumental in forming a neighborhood watch in the Lucky community, as well as Warren County Sheriff Jackie Matheny and Warren County Emergency Ambulance Service director Brian Jennings.
Womack spoke about the importance of starting a Neighborhood Watch.
“If you count the number of miles Warren County has, and you factor in the number of deputies in the county and officers in the city, you realize we need to step up and watch out for our neighbors,” said Womack. “Law enforcement does a wonderful job. However, they can’t be everywhere all the time. We need to be the eyes and ears of strange activity in our community.”
Womack says a Neighborhood Watch is about putting the neighbor back into neighborhood by creating a sense of community and bringing law enforcement and citizens together to reduce crime, not about sticking your nose into your neighbor’s business.
Benefits of a Neighborhood Watch program include:
• Reducing the risk of being a crime victim — Participants are taught how to take preventive measures that decrease the likelihood of becoming a crime victim.
• Being better prepared to respond to a suspicious activity — Members are trained on how to report suspicious activities that are occurring and what the police need when a crime is being reported and why.
• Greater access to criminal activity information — Members are informed of crime trends and patterns so they will be better prepared to spot it in their neighborhood.
• Neighborhood Watch sign posted in the neighborhood — Criminals know an area with a Neighborhood Watch sign is not an easy target. This shows the community has taken the necessary steps to deter crime.
• Knowing your neighbors — Neighborhood Watch promotes getting to know your neighbors and their regular patterns so that each of the members will be able to report any activity that doesn’t fit with regular schedules.
Matheny spoke about the benefits of Neighborhood Watch, while Jennings spoke about the first aid/ CPR classes that each program can offer.
 The event was held at Billy's Restaurant and organized by Kris Pawlak, who is the national director of the Civilian Defense Force. It attracted approximately 40 people interested in starting or joining a Neighborhood Watch in their area.
For more information, call Kris Pawlak at 931-409-2369 or Jason Dodson at 931-607-7474.