I went to our neighborhood association meeting last night for what was to be a presentation on starting a Neighborhood Watch program. Our association covers a large area made up of several smaller cul-de-sac-type neighborhoods. The crime rate here is very low; where I live, people know their neighbors and seem to naturally watch out for them. I was curious to learn if crime was on the rise nearby.

The presenter, a pleasant woman in her 50s, hailed from an neighborhood adjacent to mine. She introduced herself, then told of how a recent buglarly had sent a wave of panic through the neighborhood. They gathered, contacted the Olympia Police Department, held a meeting, assigned captains, put up two Neighborhood Watch signs. The burglary was never solved, the neighbors lost interest. End of presentation. Are there any questions?

Q: Did setting up the Neighborhood Watch program help? 
A: No.

Q: Have you had any other burglaries or crimes?
A: No. We did have one family that went on vacation and didn't tell anyone. Their home security system alarm went off and the police came and they had to pay a lot of money for that. If they had let someone know, they could have saved all that money.

Q: So, you think maybe the point is to be more neighborly with your neighbors?
A:  You think so?