Neighborhood Watch

What the Neighborhood Watch Does


Neighborhood Watch groups are the foundation of community crime prevention and a stepping stone to creating and maintaining healthy communities. The Neighborhood Watch program was designed to further citizen involvement in discouraging and preventing residential crime by:
  • Encouraging neighbors to report suspicious activities to the Brookings County Sheriff’s Office
  • Educating participants in the principles of deterrence and detection
The program depends on a communication network organized with three levels of participants: the members, watch leaders, and the Sheriff’s Office. Neighborhood Watch is a proven crime-reduction program. Like any self-help program, however, its success depends upon you and your neighbor.

What’s Suspicious and Should Be Reported

  • A child resisting the advances of an adult
  • A person who seems to have no purpose wandering in the neighborhood
  • A strange vehicle parked in a neighborhood
  • A stranger entering a neighbor’s home or apartment that appears to be unoccupied
  • A stranger sitting in a car or stopping to beckon a child
  • An abandoned vehicle
  • Any unusual or suspicious noise that you can’t explain, such as breaking glass or pounding
  • Property being removed from closed businesses or residences known to be unoccupied
  • Someone going from house to house looking into windows and parked cars
  • Someone running from a car or home
  • Someone screaming
  • Vehicles moving slowly, without lights, or with no apparent destination

How To Report


  • Give your name and address
  • Describe the event in as brief a manner as possible. Where, when, and how it occurred
  • State whether the crime is in progress or has already been completed
  • Describe the suspect – sex and race, age, height, weight, hair color, accent, beard or mustache, and distinctive characteristics or clothing
  • Describe the vehicle if one was involved – color, make, model, year, license plate, special markings, dents, which way it went, etc.

Brookings County Neighborhood


Brookings County Neighborhood Watch is an effective crime prevention program which enlists the active participation of residents in a community, in partnership with the Brookings County Sheriff’s Office, to reduce crime in their communities. It involves:
  • Implementation of crime prevention techniques such as personal security, vehicle security, CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design), and basic law enforcement operations information
  • Neighbors getting to know each other and working together in a program of mutual assistance
  • Residents trained to recognize and report suspicious activities in their neighborhoods
If you would like to more information on Neighborhood Watch or want to get involved please contact the Brookings County Sheriff’s Office at 605-696-8300.