Can someone explain...

[bighughdiehl]

these "neighborhood watch" things? It seems like just the ticket to attract paranoiacs like Zimmerman.
One little blu-ray player or some such thing gets jacked and then a bunch of cushy
sheltered yuppies are up in arms over losing some more of the pweshuss pweshuss toys
that they work too many hours to enjoy, anyway? Is that about how
"neighborhood watches" start? Vigilantism for people who hardly need it, anyway.

[seabeyond]

1. my neighborhood started one about a year ago. others keep telling me about meetings

i keep telling them i dont do people.... lol. i dont know what it is about but no, we dont have anyone in the neighborhood being vigilantes and walking around. they put up signs. wow. and a stop sign. lol

oh, and we had a best christmas decoration contest. we didnt win

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. When they work

Thry involve things like keeping lights on, and being reminded to lock your car.

They do not involve actual physical patrols, let alone armed patrols In fact, these are NOT encouraged.

[barbtries]

3. i think the premise is

that if you have more people paying attention you will have less crime in your neighborhood. i think also that the signs are meant as a deterrent. i don't know better or more than that.
but yes, zimmerman appears to have taken his role more "seriously" than intended. from what i have read the organization recommends never confronting a suspicious person.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

4. Its where neighbors get together to look out for each other an report suspicious things to the cops

It is not supposed to be an armed militia. More of an organized snitching thing

Where I live the Neighborhood Watch are the big cats and the snakes. They tend to run off any of those undesirables...especially after I tell them about the big cats and snakes.

[RKP5637]

5. I think sometimes there's a legitimate concern, but then the paranoiacs and bullies start to

move into being neighborhood watch thugs. It's a ready made role for them, giving them justification to be para-cops. In some places I've been, I've seen control freaks move into HOA's so they can rule and control, a ready made job for them to justify their behavior.

[EFerrari]

6. My mom got cleaned out while she was on vacation one year.

She was no yuppie and it was her first vacation in years. Someone pulled up truck in the driveway and stole everything of value in the house.

After that, some neighbors got together and started a neighborhood watch. It was good for the kids, too, to have adults taking turns being eyes while one or both parents were at work and they were home with a sitter.

[gateley]

7. I'm so sorry for your mom! That happened to me in NC, only they stole EVERYTHING from my storage

space including family photos, heirlooms, etc. I know it's like feeling the rug has been pulled out from under you, and you feel so violated.

[EFerrari]

10. That's horrible, gateley.

I thought those places had security?

[gateley]

11. Not in the little town where I was. There was a fence around the property but these guys just mowed

it down and backed up to 3 units and emptied them all out. No cameras, no on-site manager.

Even though I was heartbroken about losing every single thing I owned (except my clothes), it was honestly kind of liberating after I got over the mourning.

What makes me so sad about your mom is that she goes on a vacation for the first time in years, she must have been so happy and excited, then comes home to that!

But, we all manage to keep on keepin' on no matter what happens, that's life I guess.

[gateley]

8. I think it's a good way for neighbors to just be more aware. If your neighbors know you're on

vacation, for example, they'd probably call the police if they saw a panel truck pull up to your house; if they're not aware, they might just glance and think "oh, bighughdiel must be having some work done."

[MrScorpio]

9. It works like this:

[EmeraldCityGrl]

12. This photo deserves it's own thread.

Pretty much says it all.