Protect Your Neighborhood By Joining The Lower Merion Community Watch

Since 1977, Lower Merion residents have held steadfast together, providing a watchful eye over their community to protect their neighbors, friends, family, and themselves. And you can join the fight against crime by signing up for the Lower Merion Community Watch.

Lower Merion Community Watch President Matt Peskin said the program is one of the longest running, and most succesful, comminity watch programs in the nation.

"When it was establishes, the Lower Merion Police Department wanted to use volunteers for a purpose," Peskin said. Peskin said volunteers aren't just doing the "see-something-say-something" kind of watch. They are given patrols and radios to communicate with other volunteers and event submit reports to police at the end of their typical 3-hour patrol.

While watchers can often patrol areas they live in, Peskin said is for example a series of burglaries occurred in a specific area, volunteers might be asked by the police to patrol that area, as volunteers check in at the police station before and after their patrols.

"These criminals don't know who the volunteers are," Peskin said. "It' gives us somewhat of an advantage."

The advantage also come from volunteers using their own vehicles and wearing plain clothes while on patrol.

"When they started this in 1977," Peskin said, "they wanted it to be a viable part of the crime prevention program."

While volunteers for the Lower Merion Community Watch do daytime and nighttime patrols, another program was established a few years ago that puts volunteers on the street at virtually all times.

"There are about 75 million dog walkers in the country," Peskin said. "We view them as potentially very valuable extra eyes and ears." He went on to say most people are checking emails, texting, using social media, or listening to music on their smartphones when walking dogs, which makes them primed to report any suspicious activity or crimes.

"They are out day and night in all kinds of weather," Peskin said of dog walkers. "They can be an extremely valuable part of the crime prevention effort."

Training for the Lower Merion Community Watch is an hour long class that requires a Pennsylvania State Police background check before taking the class and volunteers must be 18 years of age or older, Peskin said. The dog walker program is less involved and is geared toward making volunteers comfortable calling 911, as many people can become intimidated when calling emergency services, Peskin said.

The next training class is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 1 in the Public Safety Building at 71 E. Lancaster Ave., Ardmore and is free to attend.

Visit the Lower Merion Community Watch website for more information and to sign up for the Nov. 1 volunteer training or click here for a community watch volunteer form

Image via Eva Luedin, Flickr