Organizers hope to see more Community Watch groups.
On Tuesday, Huntsville Police hosted a National Night Out event at the Jaycee Community Building at John Hunt Park.
The event helps create trust, transparency and open communication between police and the community they serve.
Everyone is welcome to attend, especially those involved in community watch.
The community liaison for Huntsville Police said she hopes the event leads more people to create community watches in their own neighborhoods.
“In many of our neighborhoods, … if they want to put signs out, put a sign on their car and drive through their neighborhoods on schedule, they can,” said Rheajoela Caldwell, community liaison for Huntsville Police Department.
Caldwell said it’s not the main way they recommend people participate in community watch, as residents can also keep an eye on their neighborhood when driving to and from home or work, walking their dog, sitting on the front porch or checking through their window.
Community watch serves as the eyes and ears for their neighborhoods and police. If they see something, they alert police.
To start a community watch group, Caldwell said you just have to gather three or more people in your neighborhood, map out a coverage area and get with the department’s community relations officers and the Huntsville Community Watch Association.
“It’s really helped our crime rates stay low here, and because the police department has taught our watch groups how to work with the city to improve things in their neighborhood, quality of life is very high around here,” said Caldwell.
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