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CJPA approves grant for neighborhood watchers
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Posted on Dec 30 2008
Saipan’s Neighborhood Watch Task Force recently got a boost in its efforts to deter crimes in the community when the Criminal Justice Planning Agency approved its grant request for $3,500.
The sub-grant is under the Fiscal Year 2008 Justice Assistance Grant for the task force’s pilot program.
CJPA executive director Jerome Ierome informed the group about the grant approval in a letter to task force chair Antonia M. Tudela on Dec. 3.
The task force is composed of various agencies that include the Saipan Mayor’s Office, 10th Saipan and Northern Islands Municipal Council, Marianas Visitors Authority, Department of Public Safety and JROTC.
The pilot program aims to reduce the occurrence of crimes, improve preparedness in responding to suspicious activity, greater access to criminal activity information, getting to know one’s neighbors, reducing the fear of crime and instead making one’s neighborhood more livable, and allowing other issues of concern to be addressed.
To accomplish these tasks, the neighborhood watchers intend to build a partnership with the community.
The task force also intends to instill a greater sense of security while reducing the fear of crime and create a sense of community, “putting the neighbor back in the neighborhood.”
As part of its pilot program, the task force has identified other duties and responsibilities, including the need to undertake assessment, conduct studies and develop action plans and implementation strategies in developing a permanent neighborhood watch program in every precinct on Saipan.
It will also distribute crime prevention and deterrence information to citizens within the neighborhood community.
It will also hold public meetings with local enforcement agencies about crime in the community and the steps needed to take in preventing, curbing and solving suspicious and criminal activities.
The task force will also coordinate a special watch or escort volunteer program for senior citizens or other potential victims in the community and such other objectives.
