John agreed to make a presentation at an Allandale safety meeting in early February where residents learned about his patrol program.  Laura invited district reps and consulted with APD on the rules and procedures.  John's great handouts allowed Laura to get up and running quickly.

In just under two months the Allandale patrol list has grown to over 60 + people.  Some of these are foot patrols, but many are part of the car patrols.  These people attend a short orientation, they pick up the magnetic signs at a designated location, patrol for at least 1 + hours per week.  They also report any findings back to the patrol group and neighborhood yahoo group. 

Already, there have been instances where suspicious vehicles have quickly left the scene upon seeing the "neighborhood watch" signage on the watch patrol cars.  Laura has found that a new set of people who might not have signed on for block captain duty, were willing to do the patrols instead. 

She has been blessed with a very connected neighborhood.  Their yahoo group is large, they have many people who are experienced at volunteering for many things, so she is able to delegate some tasks to others such as Tom Linehan who has set up the Google calendar and docs forms for patrol sign up and reporting suspicious activity.  There are also volunteers to help with mapping, data collection, and other tasks.  Laura has done much of the training herself after consulting with APD. 

The Home Safety Audit Party

Allandale has now held it's first Home Safety Audit "party".  District Rep Kelly LaHood and Troy Schoeust were invited to present a home security audit.  On a stretch of road where 5 burglaries had taken place in December and January, 25 people were present as the pair did a walk-through at the home of Bruce Reilly describing the many simple things you can do to 'harden the target' and make it less likely to have a burglary.

The Reilly's turned this opportunity into a simple party type gathering with light refreshments to bring people together.  Talking about safety issues person to person in this relaxed setting is a great way to encourage people to burglar-proof their homes.

What is the Formula for Success?

Some will read this and say that they could never set up such a program as Allandale's.   When Laura first took the reins, the watch program was virtually extinct.  It was through hard work, an enormous amount of positive energy and being smart about getting things that she was able to motivate so many in her neighborhood to pitch in to keep the neighborhood safe.  She expresses her gratitude to John Luther of Barton Hills for his time and efforts getting her patrols started.