Georgia Legal Report
SPD Urges Community Crime Watch for Apartment and Condo Residents
While apartment complex owners and managers are responsible for providing a safe and secure premises, residents can help to protect themselves and their neighbors through a Community Crime Watch.
The Seattle Police Department explains, a “Community Crime Watch…is based on the principle that neighbors working together are the first and best line of defense against crime.”
Read SPD tips to get a Community Crime Watch started in your apartment community:
Two Basic Commitments
- A commitment to be concerned about your neighbor’s property as well as your own.
- A commitment that when you see suspicious activity, you will take action by calling your neighbor or 9-1-1.
Getting Started
- Get to know all your adjacent neighbors and communicate often
- Agree to watch out for each other
- Do small tasks for each other to improve territoriality. Simply acknowledging people you see – whether you know them or not – sends the message that you as a community are paying attention to your environment.
- Pay attention to what is going on around the building, the community. If you see people or vehicles in the building or on the grounds that you don’t recognize, and/or you notice behaviors that seem out of place, tell someone; tell each other, tell building or property management. If the behavior is suspicious or criminal in nature, do not hesitate to call 911 and tell police.
- Do small tasks for each other to improve territoriality. Simply acknowledging people you see – whether you know them or not – sends the message that you as a community are paying attention to your environment.
The Murray Law Firm has recovered millions of dollars for victims of unsafe properties in Georgia, and recently obtained a $29.25 million dollar verdict for one of our Georgia Clients in Fulton County State Court.