Neighborhood President's Requirements

The following are the requirements to remain active in the Palatine Police Department Neighborhood Watch Program. Please read over the following requirements, and feel free to contact the Crime Prevention Unit at 847-359-9061 if you have any questions or you feel your group cannot maintain this activity.

Requirements include:

1. Each Neighborhood Watch (NW) President must attend a yearly meeting at the Police Department, hosted by the Crime Prevention Unit. The meeting will consist of new information for the Presidents, as well as refresh them on their duties. The meeting will be offered on 2 separate dates at the beginning of each year. It is recommended for those groups with excessive numbers of homes, to enlist a Vice President to assist with duties, as well as attend the meetings. If a president misses both meetings, they will be placed on a probationary period. If they fulfill the rest of the year's requirements, and attend the next yearly meeting, they may remain active. If they fail to attend a yearly meeting 2 years in a row, no matter their activities throughout the year, they will be put on the inactive list and be required to recertify.
2. Each NW group is required to have 1 Neighborhood Watch Meeting each year. This meeting can be a refresher meeting, or a general NW meeting, however, it is required that a police officer be present at this meeting to answer any questions the residents may have about their community. The meetings are to be scheduled, and a Beat Officer, Beat Sergeant, or Crime Prevention Officer must be present.
3. Each NW group is also required to have 1 Neighborhood Watch Activity each year as a social gathering, i.e. a block party, progressive, picnic, etc. It is not required to have a police officer present, but it is recommended the President notify the Beat Sergeant to see if an officer can attend.
4. At the conclusion of each year, Presidents will receive a Neighborhood Watch Survey requesting a detailed description of the events the group participated in each year. It is required that these surveys be completed with dates and names of officers, and returned to the Crime Prevention Unit prior to the yearly meeting at the beginning of the following year. It is also required that Presidents attach an updated email and phone tree list with the survey. It is easiest to update the email and phone tree list throughout the year at each activity. The updated list will help ensure the Crime Prevention Unit always has an active NW resident to contact in the event a President is unavailable.