(Oct. 13, 2015 flash update): Council action: Approved 9-0 to send to Housing and Neighborhoods Committee, with multiple Councilmembers commending primary author, Councilman Andrews. Coverage coming.
(Oct. 12, 2015) -- Councilman Dee Andrews (Central LB, 6th dist.), joined by Councilmembers Lena Gonzalez (1st dist.), Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal (2nd dist.) and Councilman Daryl Supernaw (4th dist.), have agendized an item that would direct the City Manager to implement a "Dog Walker Watch" program that would advise people (volunteers) walking their dogs daily to inform the police if they see suspicious activity.
"Dog Walker Watch" is used in a number of cities (locally including Laguna Beach and Anaheim) and was created by a group ("National Association of Town Watch") that describes itself [website text] as "the nation's premiere non-profit crime prevention organization dedicated to the development and promotion of crime prevention in communities across the nation" and says it also launched the annual "National Night Out" campaign that it calls an anti-crime event.
In an agendizing memo, Councilman Andrews and his co-agendizers state:
[Agendizing memo text]The City of Long Beach Police Department is always in need of the public's assistance in keeping a watchful eye in the community. With over 63,000 dog owner households in the City, implementing a Dog Walker Watch program would convert many of those walkers to "extra eyes and ears" for the Police Department. Dog walkers can be a valuable resource in helping to make our community safer.
The idea is that while residents are out taking their dogs on walks through their neighborhoods, they can also be trained to watch for suspicious activity that police have been asking people to report.
The Dog Walker Watch (DWW) is a crime awareness program sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW). There are dozens, if not hundreds, of dog walkers throughout the community who are often preoccupied with texting, chatting, emallinq, and phone calls during their neighborhood walks. Dog Walker Watch trains these individuals on how to effectively observe and report criminal activity.
The National Association of Town Watch (NATW) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the development and promotion of various crime prevention programs including neighborhood watch groups, law enforcement agencies, state and regional crime prevention associations, businesses, civic groups, and individuals, devoted to safer communities. The nations premiere crime prevention network works with law enforcement.offlcials.and ,civilian leaders to keep crime watch volunteers informed, intereested, involved and motivated.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no significant cost for this item.
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