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Apartment Watch

Take action to prevent crime. Start a Longmont "Apartment Watch!"
Just like "Neighborhood Watch", members of an Apartment Watch learn how to make their homes more secure, watch out for each other and their community, and report crime and suspicious activities to the police. Here are some ways to get an Apartment Watch going and growing.

How to Start and Grow an Apartment Watch

• Talk with your neighbors and solicit their support in watching out for each other. All it takes is "Neighbors Getting to Know Neighbors." Contact the Longmont Police Department at 303 - 774 - 4440 to arrange for a Beat Officer to speak with your Apartment Watch group about safety tips and current crime patterns to watch for. Please allow at least two weeks notice before your first meeting. You can then decide how frequently you would like to meet as an Apartment Watch. Monthly or quarterly meetings work best.
• Organize citizen patrols to walk around the apartment complex and alert police to crime and suspicious activities. Don't forget to patrol parking lots, stairways, laundry rooms, and playgrounds. Call 9-1-1 if you see anything suspicious; don't personally intervene in any confrontational situation. Call 9-1-1!
• Publish a newsletter that gives local crime news, recognizes Apartment Watch captains, and highlights community activities.
• Organize a reception in the lobby of your building or a cookout on common property so neighbors can get to know one another. Work with landlords to sponsor social events for tenants.
• Make sure that management provides adequate security.
• Check the complex on a regular basis for such problems as burned-out light bulbs, dark
  corridors, uncollected trash, or broken locks on mailboxes and doors. Report problems immediately to the building manager.
• Organize meetings to brainstorm how you can help each other, such as starting an
  escort service for the elderly or after-school care for children. Forming friendships and other community networks benefit adults and children, alike.
• Look beyond problems to root causes - does your building need a better playground, a social evening for teens, a tenant association, or new landscaping? Work with the landlord for changes that make everyone proud of where they live.

Check Out Your Apartment
Does your . . .

• entry door have a deadbolt lock and wide angle viewer?
• sliding glass door have a wooden rod or metal brace in the track so it can't be
  opened and pins in the overhead frame so it can't be lifted out?
• landlord or building manager tightly control all keys?

Check Out Your Building

• Are walkways, entrances, parking areas, elevators, hallways, stairways, laundry rooms, and storage areas well lighted, 24 hours a day?
• Are fire stairs locked from the stairwell side above the ground floor, so you can exit but no one can enter?
• Are mailboxes in a well-traveled, well-lighted area, and do they have good locks?
• Check the complex on a regular basis for such problems as burned-out light bulbs, dark
  corridors, uncollected trash, unkempt shrubs, or broken locks on mailboxes and doors.
• Report problems immediately to the building manager.

Take a Stand Against Crime. Join a Longmont APARTMENT Watch!

Adapted from The National Crime Prevention Council

For information on setting up your Apartment Watch meeting,
contact the Police Programs Coordinator at 303 - 774 - 4440