Brick Reviving Neighborhood Watch Program

BRICK, NJ -- Neighborhood watch programs were a common sight in the 1980s and 1990s as towns encouraged their residents to get involved in keeping an eye on what was happening closest to home.

Signs with a giant eyeball were posted as a warning to potential criminals were common, but the renewed Neighborhood Watch in Brick Township features bright yellow and black signs with the police department shield.

The renewed Neighborhood Watch Program is a priority of the Public Safety Committee and Mayor John Ducey, township officials said. It is funded in part through a grant from the Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse.

Anyone wishing to sign up to be part of a Neighborhood Watch can click HERE.

Already Neighborhood Watch committees have formed in the Herbertsville Park area and the Midstreams area, officials have said.

Here are a few Neighborhood Watch safety tips, even in areas where a formal Neighborhood Watch program is not in place:

• Report all suspicious people and activity to the Brick Township Police Department at 732-262-1100.
• Do not approach, follow or make contact with suspicious people or vehicles.
• Never try to take action on observation of suspicious activity.
• Provide details about the suspicious activity, individuals or vehicles involved (license plate numbers and descriptions) if they can be safely determined.

Township officials and members of the township's CERT team (Citizens Emergency Response Team) spread flyers and door hangers in some neighborhoods recently to share information about the renewed Neighborhood Watch program.

The Neighborhood Watch program is operated in conjunction with the Brick Police Community Policing Unit.

To create a Neighborhood Watch program in your neighborhood click HERE.

(Photo: Councilman James Fozman, Council Vice President Marianna Pontoriero, CERT member Victor Finamore, Councilwoman Andrea Zapcic. Karen Wall photo)