Is It Time For Neighborhood Watches To Come Back In Texas?

Here in Texas, the overall crime rate rose 2% in 2024, with violent crime and property-related crime rising at an even higher than average percent.

Additionally, nearly half of Americans have been the victims of "porch-pirates," having an estimated $288 worth of mail stolen per person.

Many folks have resorted to installing video cameras to help curb the threat of theft, vandalism, or even more serious crimes like robberies. If you happen to get clear footage of a criminal, it does significantly increase the odds of prosecution.

But clearly, the cameras alone are not enough to prevent crime, which is certainly preferable to being the victim who has to wait for justice. So what can be done?

Is It Time For Neighborhood Watches To Come Back?

The history of organized neighborhood watch groups is a long one in the U.S., dating back to early efforts in the 1960s. Momentum grew in the 1970s, and I remember seeing watch group signs all over the place as a kid in the 1990s.

So what happened?

In short, George Zimmerman ruined it for everyone.

Watch groups came under fire in the 2010s after Zimmerman, an appointed neighborhood watch coordinator, shot and killed Trayvon Martin, an innocent teenager.

Zimmerman went against the recommendations of the Neighborhood Watch by both exiting his vehicle to approach Martin and by carrying a firearm in the encounter.

Many were outraged when Zimmerman was acquitted of the killing, and watch groups became equated to vigilante justice and racial profiling by watch group members.

Clearly, if watch groups are to come back, they should strive to adhere to reporting potential crime to law enforcement, and not arbitrarily harassing teenagers. The later is clearly quite dangerous.

However, it may be a concept that is worth revisiting. Communicating suspicious activity may curb the porch pillaging or even more serious crime.