Neighborhood Watch Committee

Neighborhood Watch (NW) is an organized group of citizens devoted to preventing crime and vandalism within a neighborhood. The Orlando Police Department’s Neighborhood Watch Unit conducts neighborhood training sessions to ensure Neighborhood Watch members are able to effectively identify suspicious activity and always report suspicious activity to 911.

City of Orlando Neighborhood Watch Coordinator, Lauri Brooks, lauri.brooks@cityoforlando.net

Orlando Police Department Liason, Officer Karen Long, 407-246-2489, karen.long@cityoforlando.net

Southern Oaks has 15 Neighborhood Watch “Block Captains”.

The Orlando Police Department does not train its NW members to become vigilantes. Members are taught and reminded of four basic principles:

Neighborhood Watch members serve solely as the extra “eyes and ears” of law enforcement.
Neighborhood Watch members should report their observations of suspicious activities to law enforcement by calling 911.
Never try to take action on those observations.
Only trained law enforcement should take action.

The Objectives of Neighborhood Watch

To prevent crime by improving security, increasing vigilance, and creating and maintaining a caring community in an effort to reduce the opportunities for crime.
To assist the police in detecting crime by promoting effective two-way communication and the prompt reporting of suspicious and criminal activity.
To reduce undue fear of crime by providing accurate information about crime risks, and by promoting a sense of security and community spirit, particularly amongst the more vulnerable members of the community.
To enhance the police/community partnership by providing effective communication through systems such as the Neighborhood Watch Block Captain Program. The Neighborhood Watch Unit communicates with Block Captains via e-mail, fax, phone or mail of local crime trends which they may then disseminate to their Neighborhood Watch members.

Organizing and Maintaining

The defined Neighborhood Watch area must have at least 40% participation.
Two training meetings: at the first meeting, you will learn the dynamics of Neighborhood Watch; the second meeting is about residential security.
Creation of a communication/telephone chain.
The Watch must be able to maintain an accurate list of members’ names, addresses, and telephone numbers.
The Watch must be able to activate the communication/telephone chain and reach all members within a designated time period.
The Neighborhood Watch group is required to hold two meetings a year, which must be scheduled through your Neighborhood Watch ambassador. Participation in National Night Out will count as one of the required meetings.

Neighborhood Watch + 911 = Safer Neighborhoods in Orlando!

Link to City of Orlando Neighborhood Watch Site

The following table shows the name of the Southern Oaks Neighborhood Watch Chair Person and his 15 Block Captains:

Chair	Rye Merriam	elginm2@aol.com	407-855-4729
Block Captain Buckwood	Adam Eisen	adameisen@aol.com	407-808-6967
Block Captain Buckwood	Susan Howard	sghoward@cfl.rr.com	407-273-1292
Block Captain Campbell St	Dee Dee Williams	deedeesmoose@att.net	407-859-5861
Block Captain Edgecliffe	Wes Powell	wpowell41@aol.com	407-851-9694
Block Captain Montcalm	Bob Woodbery	woodberb1029@gmail.com	407-538-2438
Block Captain Montcalm	Norm Abramson	dmiskin@montcalmcorp.com	407-851-6602
Block Captain Montcalm	Weston Thomas	marjltd@aol.com	407-325-4288
Block Captain Northglenn	Kristi Camera	kristi@kristiandbriancamera.com	407-222-2602
Block Captain Ridgecrest	Linda Miller	lwalsh44@cfl.rr.com	407-859-4184
Block Captain Sweetbriar	Dina Duchene	tut1355@cfl.rr.com	407-760-6471
Block Captain Sweetbriar	Hank Gerken	hgerkeniii@aol.com	321-352-7377
Block Captain Sweetbriar	J J Alexander	jjalexa@gmail.com	407-538-1011
Block Captain Wald	Keith Tagman	keithtagman@gmail.com	321-287-9637
Block Captain Wald	Paul Dalton	pdalton17@att.net	407-608-0355
Block Captain Wald	Jim Rodriguez	jrodriguez@ackdevelopment.com	407-826-5109