Yes, you, too, can prevent crime in your neighborhood

It was the pesky door-to-door sales people that prompted Lynn Bak to get serious about crime in her Livorna Estates neighborhood. Bak knew that her neighborhood, close to the Alamo border, offered easy access, including to someone who was up to no good and trying to gain entrance to a home under the guise of selling something.

She contacted Walnut Creek police about starting a neighborhood watch program. That was four years ago. Not only has the Livornia Estates Neighborhood Watch reduced the frequency of visits by those annoying salespeople, the group has taught residents how to protect themselves from another major nuisance: car burglaries.

Indeed, the neighborhood saw a 68 percent decline in car burglaries  (from 25 to eight) between 2007 and 2008. 

"I was shocked," Bak said. "There was a three-month period when there were no reports of vehicle break-ins."

Crime overall in the neighborhood dropped 38 percent between October last year and January this year. For her work, Bak was honored by the Walnut Creek Police in May for setting up the "wildly successful program."

"Neighbors at Livorna Estates know that police can have a positive impact on crime but need the help of residents themselves to maintain these improvements over the long term," wrote former Crime Prevention Coordinator Amy Ballock  in the April/June issue of In the Nutshell. 

In working with Ballock, Bak and her neighbors, including volunteer block captain M'Lu Knaus, quickly learned that neighborhood watch has nothing to do with residents patrolling the streets or getting into each other's business. 

"We're not crime fighters," Bak said.

It's mostly about finding ways to communicate with one another, and to look out for one another, she said. Bak's neighborhood has 370 households, 250 of which participate in the program. She communicates with those households through an email list. These emails keep residents aware of any outbreaks of certain kinds of crimes, such as car buglaries. Those emails can also contain tips so that residents can protect themselves from certain kinds of crime.

As a special project to reduce auto break-ins, Bak sent a flier out to each of the 19 Livorna Estates volunteers she enlisted to be block captains. The block captains, in turn, printed them out and distributed them to homes in their blocks.

"People can put as much energy into it as they want," said Alicia White, who took over as crime prevention coordinator when Ballock transferred to new duties. "Even the tiniest bit helps."(See the attached PDF of the Neighborhood Watch starter kit that the police distribute).

White said over the years Walnut Creek has had number of neighborhood watch groups start up. She knows of five active ones.  

Bak said there are benefits, beyond crime prevention, from her getting involved, both for herself and the community. With her kids grown and out of school, Bak said she felt like she had fallen out of the communications loop of school and swim club. The neighborhood watch has been a way for her to reconnect with her neighbors. 

Her neighborhood watch email  list has also become a community resource.

"We've morphed into a neighborhood bulletin," she said. "We can let people know about other things: emergency preparedness, swim team fundraisers."