Your Neighbourhood

WHY GET INVOLVED?

Everyone should be able to feel proud of their neighbourhood and to feel safe walking the streets. By volunteering for our Neighbourhood Watch Program you will have an opportunity to help make your community a better place to live.

Neighbourhood Watch provides an effective way to reduce the opportunity for crime to occur through the active participation of community residents.

Few of us can protect our homes and property all of the time. We go to work, to school and take time to go away on vacation. With an active Neighbourhood Watch program in your community, individuals can leave their homes knowing someone is keeping an eye out.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Community members are taught how to make their homes less inviting to potential intruders and how to be alert to suspicious activity in their neighbourhoods. By coordinating the efforts of the Windsor Police and the community, criminals are stopped in their tracks.

Strong individual, community, and police involvement make Neighbourhood Watch a success as we help build safer communities together!

HOW DO I START A WATCH?

CONTACTING NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH WINDSOR

All it takes is one resident to get the process going. When making the choice to start a Watch, the canvasser contacts Neighbourhood Watch Windsor to register their Watch, and receive their sign-up materials. If you live in a private complex or building, you’ll need permission from your Board of Directors.

Canvassing your Neighbourhood

The canvasser is responsible for going door-to-door and collecting the contact information of the people in the neighbourhood. A minimum of 50% of residents need to be signed up for the program to be activated. Once this information is collected, it’s entered into a database by Neighbourhood Watch Windsor, and is never shared or sold.

C.P.T.E.D. Scan

Upon request, Neighbourhood Watch Windsor will conduct a Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Scan of the neighbourhood. This audit indicates any structural/environmental issues in the neighbourhood that might be allowing crime to happen, therefore making small changes can reduce future criminal opportunities.

City Signage

The City of Windsor will install Neighbourhood Watch signage denoting your area as an activated Watch. These signs serve as psychological reminders to criminals to stay away, while branding your street. Private complexes and buildings are responsible for their own installation.

Activation Meeting

Neighbourhood Watch Windsor will host an ‘activation meeting’ at a local community centre or library for your neighbourhood. All dwellings in the Watch are invited to attend this hosted training presentation delivered by Windsor Police Service and Neighbourhood Watch Windsor. The meeting covers home security, crime prevention information, and details on how your Watch will work. It’s recommended all Members attend this meeting to get the education they need to be an effective Watch. Take home materials and fact sheets are provided at this meeting for Watch Members to take home. At this meeting the Block Captain(s) will be introduced. Most often the original canvasser, the Block Captain(s) will be responsible for maintaining the Watch and sending out communications to the Members.

Communicating with your Watch

Watch Members are now trained to report suspicious and criminal activity in their neighbourhood – both Windsor Police Service and their local Block Captain. Block Captains are responsible for taking the reports and sending them out to all Watch Members. This ensures everyone knows whenever something suspicious/criminal happens in their Watch, and keeps people talking.

Neighbourhood Block Parties!

All Neighbourhood Watches are encouraged to have Neighbours Block Parties right on their street! Community events like potlucks, BBQs, or just regular coffee outside are a great way to get neighbours out of their home and socializing. It sends a strong message to criminals that this is an active community, and that you live in a Watch where people stand together.

If you are the victim of a crime or see suspicious activity, immediately contact Windsor Police Service to report it.

9-1-1 If it is an EMERGENCY you need police, firefighters, or an ambulance, or you feel unsafe, or a crime is in progress).

Or, 519-258-6111 If it is not an emergency, and you are reporting the crime AFTER it has happened, use the non-emergency line.

CONTACT YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH

DOWNLOAD BLOCK CAPTAIN APPLICATION

CRIME PREVENTION

Report a crime to Windsor Police Service or anonymously to CrimeStoppers.

If there is any injury, a suspect or a crime in process. Call 911.

Or, you can file an Online Police report for:

Property Damage
Vehicle Damage
Theft
Vehicle Theft
Lost Property
Lost/Stolen Liecense Plates

You may not report lost Vehicles or lost Official Federal Documents such as a Passport or Immigration Card, mail, cheques, firearms or explosives through the online reporting system.

To report a crime to Windsor Police click here

To anonymously report a crime to Windsor and Essex Crime Stoppers Inc. please click here

Interested in helping out locally? Learn about our Neighbourhood Watch program.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

With Windsor’s notable diversity and a substantial number of newcomers to Canada, the city is particularly vulnerable to being targeted by hate crimes.

The initiative seeks to mobilize and empower residents to take a proactive stance against hate-motivated crimes, ultimately creating safer and more inclusive neighborhoods in the City of Windsor.

This project will ultimately work towards the prevention of hate crimes through public education, while simultaneously offering group space for support by those directly impacted by occurrences of hate crime(s).

To learn more about the project or to book a session, connect with project coordinator:

Avery Piazza

apiazza@thesafetyvillage.com | 519 – 796 – SAFE (7233)

REPORT HATE CRIMES

A hate crime is defined as a criminal violation motivated by hate, based on race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other similar factor.
- Example: A person commits criminal mischief by spray painting a Swastika and hateful messages on the side of a building.
A hate-motivated incident may be motivated by the same factors as a hate crime, but does not reach the threshold of a criminal offence. These incidents may include name calling, racial insults, or the distribution of material containing hateful language.
- Example: A person yells a slur at someone and tells them “go back to your country.”

Reporting—no matter how minor something may seem—can help police better target crime prevention efforts in communities. It can help identify trends and, most importantly, prevent a possible escalation towards violence.

The Windsor Police Service offers reporting in over 200 languages via translation services. These services are only available by calling the Windsor Police E911 Centre at 519-258-6111.

Report a Hate Crime | Windsor Police Service