Please see below the reporting procedures for Block Watch participants and owners even if you are not a registeed member of Block Watch. Captains and Co-Captains for our complex are as follows:
- Tom Jones – Block Watch Captain
- Darrien Matthews and Alan Reynolds – 3122 Side Co-Captains
- Paul Ballenger and AJ Sood – 3109 Co-Captains
We do have a email address to report an incident to your local Captains or Co_Captains once a police report is filed. Please include brief details of there incident and a file # provided by the police. Email is : wcblockwatch2020@gmail.com
Communication Process:
Step 1 – Witness or Victim needs to be the one to report to police to get a file created. They need to ask for a file number once the report has been taken. The caller should also let the call taker know they’re from Block Watch.
- You have 3 reporting options:
- 911 – For emergencies- crimes in progress or an immediate threat to life / limb. Ex. Assault, someone trying door handles on parked cars on your street
- Non-Emergency – no immediate threat to life/limb or there is a time delay. Ex. Theft of license plate, suspicious person/vehicle, after hours Bylaws complaints, Theft from vehicle w/ suspect
- Online – Records only files Ex. Theft under $5000 (no suspects/witnesses), driving complaints, mischief under $5000- Online Crime Reporting | Surrey RCMP (rcmp-grc.gc.ca)
Step 2- Once it has been reported to police, the witness or victim should be emailing the Block Watch Captain or Co Captain to loop them in. That person should give a quick little note of what happened along with the file number.
Step 3– Block Watch Captain then creates a fan out / alert / email and sends it out to the rest of their Block Watch group so they are aware of what’s going on. the Block Watch Coordinator should also be cc’d or bcc’d on that email so I’m aware of the incident. Once they receive the email they will share that with their Community Response Unit who deals with problem properties and prolific offenders and they will plan their projects based off of the actual crime trends they’re seeing and what information they are sent.
Should you report it?
Sending an email is not the same as creating a police report. the RCMP needs to have a proper file number created to document the incident so their analysts can track crime trends – This is how they deploy their resources effectively and how your neighbourhoods are going to get police patrols. The answer to the question “should I report it” will always be yes.
Police may not attend with lights and sirens, or they may attend a couple hours after the report or not at all depending on the circumstance but it’s incredibly important groups take the time to make the call and make a proper report. It’s the only way the RCMP can get an accurate idea of what’s happening in our community.
Sent on behalf of the Safety and Security Committee/ Block Watch
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