For Historic Meridian Park (HMP) to benefit from the expertise of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD), half or more of the households on each block must express an interest in the Crime Watch program. Karla Johnson and John Carmer have agreed to spearhead the efforts in HMP, but need much more participation from neighbors to qualify for IMPD assistance. With several hundred houses in HMP, only about 38 have expressed an interest in participating in a crime watch program. Expressing an interest does not indicate that any particular household is agreeing to be a Block Captain; willing Block Captains for each block have already been identified. Interest indicates that you will:
- Provide household information
- Be aware of what is going on your block and in your neighborhood
- Alert the Block Captain if you see something awry.
Information regarding the requirements of a crime watch program bears repeating:
- Identify the target area for your Crime Watch group.
- When the neighbors interested in establishing this program in your community are ready, IMPD will meet with the group to go over the basics of the Crime Watch program such as setting up a neighborhood communication network, basic home security tips, and reporting crime.
- A second meeting with IMPD will be scheduled to address questions or concerns related to area crime trends, police work, and how they relate to Crime Watch. At this meeting HMP must submit a roster of members of our Crime Watch group and the elected Block Captains.
- After these requirements are fulfilled, IMPD will complete a request for the Neighborhood Crime Watch signs which would be installed from 4 to 6 weeks after the date the request is submitted to the Indianapolis Department of Public Works.
This is an excellent program from which HMP would benefit. If you are interested in participating in a HMP Crime Watch program, please email Karla Johnson at Johnson.karla67@gmail.com.