Neighborhood watches are on the front lines in bad economy

I just updated my home security system and am considering organizing a block security association-Lou

Neighborhood watches are on the front lines in bad economy

Of the departments surveyed, 39 percent reported an increase in robberies, and 32 percent said they had seen a rise in burglaries.

Those surveyed also reported a 40 percent increase in thefts, including those of GPS devices from cars and other "opportunistic" crimes.
The survey also revealed that while quality-of-life crimes are rising, budget money is falling. Of the 233 responding police agencies, 63 percent said they expected their total funding for the next fiscal year to be slashed.

And as police departments grapple with budget cuts and hiring freezes, neighbors are stepping up and battling back against burglary, theft and vandalism.

Police Chief Dean Esserman of Providence, Rhode Island, said that for a time, his department saw a dramatic increase in copper thefts resulting from empty, foreclosed homes and the increased value of copper on the commodities market.

Read Article Here:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/02/24/neighborhood.watch.economy/index.html