Columbia Neighborhood Watch

Our main goal is to get neighbors to cooperate with each other and be observant. To have them report anything unusual to the police and cooperate with the police.
We are bringing neighbors together to assist and cooperate with each other. We teach them crime reducing methods and how to observe and report things that are out of place for their area. All this is done with the goal of reducing crime.
Ideally, if all neighborhoods in Columbia, MO would be involved in our program this would lead to lower crime and better police cooperation. If a crime were to occur, this would lead to a greater chance that the crime would be solved and lead to a conviction because the neighborhood member would cooperate and support the police by providing timely and accurate information.

In addition to this main goal we:
• Continue to keep Captains list up to date

• Continue to improve the Training Power Point

• Hold a minimum of 6 combined Public Training sessions and Private (On-Site) sessions as requested, that are approved.

• Attend at least one public event

• Continue to offer the speakers group to talk to clubs and organizations and actively schedule these events.

• Sent thank you letters to Captains/ Co-Captains

• Send Newsletter Quarterly

• Continue to work on getting together the information so we may apply for grants when required.


• Reach out to City Council Members to attend and reach out to their constituents to attend Watch Trainings.

• Explore Data to show success and provide proof to members and others.

To accomplish this goal, we are partnered with the Columbia Police Department and have a Police Liaison assigned to our organization. We offer several training sessions each year for the citizens of Columbia, MO. This includes both open trainings, which are available to anyone who wishes to attend and On-Site training just for a specific group.
We also attend public events with a booth to further our outreach and to inform the public. This includes special events that the Police Department hosts. We have also explored seeking (or requested) grants to launch a Public Relations campaign to increase our membership, public awareness, and provide safety tips.
An ongoing effort is underway to map crime information to our member communities to better understand the effects of our membership on crime avoidance and to develop new strategies to better protect our citizens

We are a small nonprofit with no staff, but we have a dedicated nine-member board. We also have the support of the City of Columbia, MO and the Columbia Police Department. Our website has a resource section which gives visitors safety tips and describes our organization.
Our budget is small, but is adequate for our basic needs. We have several in-kind grants. They provide copying services and online ads. We have a BBB rating as an accredited nonprofit, which helps with fundraising.
We are starting a collaboration with a new startup nonprofit which has some similar goals. This organization is the Boone County Coalition against Violence. We intend to join forces when it is advantageous to our community and within our missions.

We continue to grow our membership each year. By attending City Council Meetings and participating in Police Department events, our relationship with the City and the new Police Chief remains strong.
When people from outside the city limits attend our trainings, we coordinate with and share this information with the County Sheriff’s Department Neighborhood Watch program.
We are continually looking for additional methods to improve our program and funding. With this in mind, we are applying of grants to further our mission.
We continue to work with the Boone County Joint Communications (the 911 center). for information to share with all Columbia residents.

We have worked to prove the value of our organization through accreditation with the BBB and Guide Star