Wilburton Community Watch Program

Introduction

The goal of Community Watch program is to improve safety and reduce crime rate of Wilburton neighborhood. Given the situation that nowadays everyone’s time is fragmented, and few can make big commitment, the program is designed to follow a Wikipedia style to allow anyone to participate without feeling huge burden of commitment.

How

The Community Watch program divides Wilburton neighborhood into blocks according to spatial adjacency and number of households. Please see Block Map at https://tinyurl.com/WilburtonBlockMap. For single family blocks, each block contains 25-40 households. Every block will have two Friends of Community Watch to lead. Anyone can sign up as Friend of Community Watch. The term of Community Watch Lead is one year. If more than two persons sign up for the same block, the first two will be the Community Watch Leads for one year and the next two will be the Community Watch Leads for next year, and so on. Community Watch Leads join the Community Watch discussion group monitored by Community Watch Chairs to address issues across blocks. Every block maintains their own discussion group to address issues within their block. We may invite police to join the Community Watch discussion group to ensure quick responses. We will have quarterly Community Watch meeting with Bellevue Police to ensure active neighborhood participation. The meeting may be held at Bellevue City Hall, but Community Watch Leads can choose to participate in person or via online.

It has two types of volunteer leadership position: Community Watch Chair and Community Watch Lead. Every position is a co-position with two persons/households. The term of every position is one year. No person can stay at the same position consecutively for more than two years. We encourage shared duty and duty rotation.

What

Roles and Responsibilities of Community Watch Chairs

• Update the framework of Community Watch program to ensure a de-centralized and organic grown Community Watch program

• Ensure quarterly Community Watch meeting with Bellevue Police

• Ensure enough neighborhood watch signs installed

• Set up and monitor the discussion group of Community Watch Leads

• Plan and organize the Community Watch program info table at WCA annual picnic • Plan and organize emergency preparation for the whole neighborhood

• Nominate and appoint new co-Chairs from Community Watch Leads

• Out of scope: be the advocate of Wilburton neighborhood. All advocacy voices for the whole neighborhood should be managed by WCA board.

• Estimated Level of Effort: 20 to 30 hours to get started, then 4-6 hours per month. At least one co-Chair will be present at the quarterly Community Watch meeting with Bellevue Police. The co-Chairs will be responsible for organizing the info table at WCA annual picnic. Other than that, you can do it at your own pace.

Roles and Responsibilities of Community Watch Leads

• Spread the info of Community Watch to every household in the designated block at your own pace

• Participate the quarterly Community Watch meeting with Bellevue Police for at least twice a year

• Set up and monitor the discussion group of Friends of Community Watch of your designated block. Community Watch Leads can decide how people can be organized within their own block • Bring any safety issue that concerns of your block to the Community Watch discussion group • Facilitate the Community Watch program info table at WCA annual picnic

• Facilitate the effort of emergency preparation for the whole neighborhood and your designated block

• Nominate and appoint new Community Watch Leads from Friends of Community Watch • Out of scope: be the advocate of Wilburton neighborhood. All advocacy voices for the whole neighborhood should be managed by WCA board.

• Estimated Level of Effort: 10-20 hours to get started, then 2-4 hours per month. You are required to attend quarterly Community Watch meeting with Bellevue Police for at least twice every year. For other items you can do it at your own pace.

Roles and Responsibilities of Friends of Community Watch

• Join your block’s discussion group. When any suspicious activity happens, make your own judgement if you should report it to police immediately or have a discussion within your block. If you report it to police, you are encouraged to share it to the discussion group of your block. Community Watch Leads can help you to bring your concerns to the Community Watch discussion group after your approval.

• Facilitate the Community Watch program info table at WCA annual picnic

• Facilitate Community Watch for the effort of emergency preparation for the whole neighborhood and your designated block

• Estimated Level of Effort: at your will.

When

The Community Watch program will recruit Friends of Community Watch Leads starting in August. We will have an info table ready at WCA annual picnic. Since this is the beginning of the program, the expiration date of every position will be at the annual picnic date in 2021.

Other

The Community Watch program is about neighbors watch for each other. Though we encourage everyone to go out and walk around the neighborhood with vigilance, we do not organize any official neighborhood patrol.

Wilburton Block Map (see live map at https://tinyurl.com/WilburtonBlockMap

Sign Up for Community Watch