Golden Valley Police Neighborhood Crime Watch Meeting Sept. 16

The Golden Valley Police Department hosts two Neighborhood Watch meetings per year and the second one this year is 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 16, at City Hall.

The bi-annual meetings include a crime prevention refresher, an update on crime patterns and trends in Golden Valley and more. 

After a residential survey was taken last year, the city has a plan for improving the Neighborhood Watch program.

The Sept. 16 meeting is included as part of the improvement to include general crime updates to residents who attend. 

According to the city, the "Neighborhood Watch provides obvious and proven benefits for residents and the community as a whole. These include a reduction in crime, a better quality of life by resolving livability issues quickly with the assistance of the police department, a greater sense of security and responsibility, building community pride and unity, and becoming the extra “eyes and ears” of your local police department."

In the past, police were able to meet with each Neighborhood Watch group in each neighborhood, but as the program expanded that was not possible. The police then began hosting "zone" meetings for all the Watch groups in each zone of the city. 

The police department will still meet with individual groups upon request as well as with the newly formed Neighborhood Watch Advisory Committee. 

The Committee is comprised of one volunteer from each zone, would meet twice a year with GVPD staff and help make decisions about Golden Valley’s Neighborhood Watch program, Night to Unite, and ways to partner with state and national programs. 

Also new is a Neighborhood Watch Manual, with answers to frequently asked questions, city ordinances, and crime prevention information, which will be available online soon. Paper copies will also be available upon request.