The Neighborhood Watch is a citizen's involvement program where citizen's, in cooperation with the Benton Police Department, directly participate in the detection and prevention of crime. Citizens are trained in how to recognize suspicious or criminal activities and report these activities to the police department.
Police departments are often limited by low numbers of officers and their availability at any given time or place. Neighborhood Watch Programs greatly enhance the effectiveness of crime prevention by having more "eyes and ears" throughout the community. Neighborhood Watch citizens do not actively engage in enforcing the law nor do they assist with the actual apprehension of criminals.
The Benton Police Department currently assists approximately ten Neighborhood Watch Programs within the city. Oficers attend monthly meetings with each program to share recent information on crimes occuring throughout not only the city but state and nationwide as well. Citizens also take this time to get acquainted with and meet each officer that patrols their area.
