Community Watch

The department is a strong believer in community participation with respect to the prevention of criminal activity in our neighborhoods.  Our citizens know we cannot be everywhere all the time and , as a result, they are becoming more involved in helping us through direct involvement in Community Watch programs.  The department works with interested citizens in forming Community Watch programs on a continual basis.  As the number of programs has grown, we have seen a direct benefit in keeping the number of reported crimes well below the population growth rare of neighborhoods in Rhea County.  Citizens participating in Watch programs act as our eyes and ears.  They patrol their own neighborhoods. They are alert for suspicious activity and they report what they are seeing.  The visible presence of citizens in Watch programs, alone, is a strong deterrent to illegal activity.

Persons interested in starting a Community Watch program should first access the amount of interest residents of a neighborhood have in participating.  We do require that Watch programs maintain an active "citizen patrol" and, for that reason, it is important to know how many residents will be interest in being actively involved.  Once it is established that there are a sufficient number of residents willing to put their effort into a Watch program, interested person should contact Detective Chris Hall at 775-7837 for coordination in initiating a Community Watch program for your neighborhood.