River Park’s Neighborhood Watch Program was founded in the mid 1990s in response to emerging crime concerns in the Park.  The Neighborhood Watch Program quickly became a notable success in the city for its results in curbing the incidence of crime in the Park and received statewide recognition for its performance. 

River Park Neighborhood Watch provides:

Safety & Security Updates
Night Patrol
Block Captains

The Block Captains are the neighborhood’s frontline safety coordinators.  Every street block in River Park is assigned a block captain to provide assistance and guidance on safety matters.  If you are victim of a crime, in addition to informing the Sacramento Police Department, please let your block captain know about this event.  The better we track these incidences, the better we are able to collectively respond.  

As a secondary duty, the block captains distribute the River Park Review newsletter.  

12 Safety Tips to Improve Your Neighborhood Right Now!            

1. Report crime promptly. Neighbors sometimes don't report criminal activity because they don't want to bother the police; they assume police are too short-staffed to respond, or they believe that there isn't much an officer can (or will) do about a given problem anyway. Whether the issue is graffiti, petty vandalism, or something much more serious, police cannot act without first hearing about the problem from citizens.

2. Report nuisances and other non-criminal problems promptly.

3. Take away the opportunity for crime. Lock your car and never leave valuables, even for a few minutes, in the car where would-be thieves might see them. Trim bushes or trees on your property that offer too-convenient hiding places. Make your front porch visible and make sure your home looks like someone lives there.

4. Meet the youth who live on your block and greet them by name. This ensures that each adult is better able to help in an emergency and is better prepared to discuss problems immediately as they arise.

5. Make a list of the names and phone numbers of every neighbor on your block. Unless you know neighbors' names and numbers, you can't call them about a concern or let them know about a neighborhood problem.

6. Make a list of landlords in your area. As owners of property in the community, landlords are responsible to the neighborhood and most are rightly concerned about the health of the community in which their properties stand.

7. Turn your porch light on. Crime tends to decline in neighborhoods that are well lit. Turning on porch lights is a simple way to start this process.

8. Walk around the block. It sounds simple enough, but neighbors benefit over time when more responsible citizens walk about more (particularly those who are comfortable doing it) at night, every night, around their block.

9. Drive slowly on neighborhood streets. You can take the lead in slowing down traffic in your neighborhood and those around you. 

10. Pick up the litter near your home, even if you didn't put it there. You can help stop the growth of trash in your neighborhood by taking away the existing litter that attracts it.

11. Stay where you are. Stable neighborhoods are built on the commitment of long-term residents who would rather live in a healthy community than move to a bigger house.

12. Help your neighborhood association or similar groups. If leadership isn't your desire, at least make sure someone in your household attends local neighborhood association meetings. You'll be kept better informed of the issues facing the neighborhood and how you can help and, perhaps more importantly, you'll have the chance to shape, guide, and partici­pate in the future of your neighborhood.

Reprinted with permission from Campbell DeLong, Resources, Inc., www.cdri.com.  
Copyright 1999-2000 @Campbell DeLong Resources, Inc