Good Neighbors Reduce Crime - Would you be mine?
While Mister Rogers may not have been nominated for best picture this award season, we feel there are some good reminders for being neighborly worth sharing.
The most effective means of reducing crime in the neighborhood is an organization of neighbors helping one another. It’s a fact: Concerned neighbors reduce crime. Putting into practice the time-honored “good neighbor” policy is still the single most important factor in solving problems-including crime.
Here are a few good neighbor tips:
- It’s always smart to get to know your neighbors. The “rule of 5” is to at least know your neighbors on both sides and 3 across the street or alley. Practice small acts of kindness – smile, wave, or say ‘hello’. Welcome new neighbors – maybe bring by a plate of cookies.
- Be aware of your neighbor’s habits, such as when they are generally at work, if they have small children or teenagers, if they are elderly and may need extra assistance from time to time. This awareness will make the neighborhood a much tighter community, and everyone will be able to better prevent crime.
- Get to a level where you can at least trust one of your neighbors. This is a good idea especially if you plan on being away for a few days or more. By giving a copy of your keys to a trusted neighbor, you can have them pick up your mail or just make sure everything is okay at home.
- Share your contact information or at least a phone number. Create a neighborhood group text with a few trusted neighbors so it can be readily accessible in case of an emergency. Many of our neighbors are also on NextDoor where you can post or private message them.
The ONA is creating several opportunities to get to know your neighbors:
- Join us and Officer Barnes at the ONA General Meetings in February, May, and September on the last Thursday at 7pm.
- Come to National Night Out (1st Tuesday of October) and other ONA sponsored events (e.g. district pop-ups, block parties). Look for these events in the newsletter for details.
- Participate in Crime Watch. We have members on every street in Oakridge who keep watch for suspicious activity and are contacts for us if needed to assist with a crime in the area. We would love to have someone on every block.
Visit our website at https://www.oakridgena.org/crime-prevention-safety/ or contact us at safety@oakridgena.org to see how you can join us in keeping our neighborhood safe.