Know Thy Neighbor

Proactive Solutions to Curb Burglaries & Other Crimes

by David Chan

My family and I moved to Davis some seven years ago. From the beginning, we knew we loved Davis … its welcoming culture, intellectual stimulation, and just safe environment. The “safe” part was especially important to us because, at the time, our children were only 5 and 3. However, the recent flurry of news about burglaries on the rise in Davis, in broad daylight AND with people at home gives me pause.

After the jump, find more info on how to best work together as a community to preserve and improve our safety and standard of living.

Coincidentally, I had been talking to some of my neighbors about getting to know everyone better and setting up a neighborhood watch. Mind you, I was born and raised in San Francisco. As a kid, I grew up in an incredibly bad neighborhood. I was mugged at eight years old by knife point and surrounded by punk kids who wanted my school candy and the $2.00 that I had in my pocket.

Davis is clearly NOT San Francisco, but the recent front page article in today’s 9/21 Davis Enterprise and this CBS news report about Davis burglaries brings back memories from my childhood that I dare say do NOT want my kids to ever experience.

I’m not an alarmist by nature. Being a proactive individual and at the behest of my neighbors, I put into motion a plan that I think all responsible Davisites should consider. I called the City of Davis to find out about their Neighborhood Watch Program. I’m awaiting a call from the Police Department to get this set up.

At the same time, I signed up to “sponsor” the Davis Neighbors Night Out program. The city of Davis apparently helps to sponsor a night that encourages neighbors to get to know each other. The day / night for this year’s event is October 11th. They’ll give you permits to close down your street for a “block party”, send you balloons, and even send out a public official if you request it.

Tonight I walked my block and introduced myself to some of the neighbors I’d never met before. That alone gave me a “warm” feeling knowing that, at a minimum, we’ve met each other. The Neighbors Night Out program seems like an excellent way for us all to feel some sense of security in knowing that we are in support of each other.

It’s unfortunate that we need to think about taking these types of measures in Davis. But, the reality is that we do not live in a vacuum. We all must realize that what we treasure most about Davis is something that others, good and bad, want a piece of as well.

I’m quite pleased that the City of Davis proactively sponsors events like this. In fact, I’m convinced now that this is one of the reasons why long time Davisites refer to this city as the “Republic of Davis.”