Step 1: Organize your Block

• Contact your neighbors and obtain consent to organize a Neighborhood Watch Group. Participating houses should be situated to provide good visibility of the other homes. No more than 20 homes are recommended for one neighborhood group member to manage.
• Obtain a commitment from participating houses to attend a 90-minute Neighborhood Watch Safety Meeting (Step 3).
• Attendance of no less than 51 percent is required to install Neighborhood Watch signs.
• Preferred attendance is 100 percent, helping to preserve the integrity of the program, knowing the majority of neighbors are participating and practicing crime prevention.

Step 2: Schedule your Neighborhood Watch Safety Meeting

• Contact the Community Outreach Unit at 913-971-7500 to schedule the 90-minute Neighborhood Watch Safety Meeting.
• At least two weeks advanced notice is preferred.
• Meetings scheduled on Monday through Thursday at 7 p.m. typically receive the largest participation. Avoid scheduling on a school-event night, weekend, big sports event, or holiday, etc.

Step 3: Attend your Neighborhood Watch Safety Meeting 

• Neighborhood Watch Safety Meeting in your neighborhood is presented by the Community Outreach Unit.
• Block Captain(s) and Co-Captain(s) are elected from your group.
• Family Information Guides are distributed for each household to complete. Family information is used by the Block Captain(s) for an emergency call out and for residents who want to mark their personal property with an Operation Identification (ID) number.

Step 4: Check-out Engravers for Operation ID

• Free engravers are issued to the Block Captain(s) for neighbors to mark personal property in conjunction with the Operation ID. There is no charge to participate in Operation ID.
• House stickers are issued to neighbors participating in Operation ID.

Step 5: Neighborhood Watch Signs Installed

• Engravers are returned to the Community Outreach Unit.
• Free Neighborhood Watch signs are posted at street entrances to indicate that the neighbors practice crime prevention.

Neighborhood Responsibilities
Informational meetings promote better communication between the police and citizens to help achieve active, informed Neighborhood Watch Groups.

• Each Neighborhood Watch is to hold at least one annual meeting, either in the form of an educational safety-related program, block party or other similar social event.
• Captain(s) and/or Co-Captain(s), or their designee(s), attend at least two of four quarterly informational meetings presented by the Community Outreach Unit.
• Captain(s) and/or Co-Captain(s) contact new neighbors and distribute the Family Information Guide and other pertinent Neighborhood Watch information as needed.

Police Responsibilities

• Assist each Neighborhood Watch Group in their crime prevention efforts.
• Perform security surveys in individual homes upon request.
• Provide the latest in crime prevention information in the form of a newsletter and quarterly Block Captain Meetings.
• Contact Neighborhood Watch Groups with pertinent information about crimes in Olathe that may impact their neighborhood.
• Re-certify annually each Neighborhood Watch Group who meets their responsibilities.

Watch Dog Newsletter
The Watch Dog Newsletter publication is distributed exclusively to Neighborhood Watch Program participants.
Join Neighborhood Watch if you would like to receive the newsletter. 

Contact the Community Outreach Specialist at OlatheConnect or call 913-971-6323 for additional information.

Free viewers are required for some of the attached documents.
They can be downloaded by clicking on the icons below.

Acrobat Reader Windows Media Player Word Viewer Excel Viewer PowerPoint Viewer