Columbia Neighborhood Watch continues to recruit members

According to the National Crime Prevention Council, Neighborhood Watch is one of the oldest and most effective crime prevention programs in the country.

From the national level to the local level, organizations based around safety continue to form.

“I believe we educated almost 200 people in the last calendar year,” said Columbia Police Department officer Jason McClintic, who also serves as the Columbia Neighborhood Watch liaison.

According to the Columbia Neighborhood Watch website, Columbia Neighborhood Watch is all about promoting community involvement in fighting crime by connecting people. The Columbia Neighborhood Watch is holding an open training session at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Parkade Elementary School, 111 Parkade Blvd.

The mission of Columbia Neighborhood Watch is to inform, train and encourage residents to work together to establish neighborhood watch programs with the goal of reducing crime, according to the Columbia Neighborhood Watch website.

“It all changes per neighborhood, what is suspicious in my neighborhood may not be suspicious in another person’s neighborhood, it’s when something sticks out is the first indicator to know something is going to happen,” McClintic said.

Go to https://apps.apple.com/us/app/columbiapd/id1255244654 to download the Neighborhood Watch app.

Check back or watch ABC 17 News at 6 for more on this story.

KMIZ