Electronic Neighborhood Watch

The Cattaraugus County Sheriff's Office has instituted an "Electronic" Neighborhood Watch program to supplement its efforts in Community Policing. In connection with the regular neighborhood watch programs that the Sheriff's Office has helped to establish, the Electronic Neighborhood Watch uses e-mail to spread information to residents that may be important to their health, safety or security.

Through the use of e-mail, the Cattaraugus County Sheriff's Office will contact its communities with information on...

• crime trends in an area, such as a rash of burglaries or larcenies, with safety reminders, advice or warnings

• suspicious activities or vehicles in an area

• scams or fraud schemes that have been passing through the area

• wanted or missing persons, with composite or actual pictures attached when possible

• drug activities

• public safety messages and news released by the Sheriff's Office

The Sheriff's Office has established an "automated" mail list, where interested people can subscribe and unsubscribe from the list at their leisure. Once they have subscribed to the mail list, they will receive all the information the Sheriff's Office distributes and will be able to respond to the information through e-mail without having to use the phone. People can participate for whatever time period they wish simply by sending e-mail to the mail server. Because of this automation, there is very little time spent by officers updating or maintaining the mail list. Additionally, the program was developed using existing equipment, software and staff. This allowed the program to move forward with no extra cost to the taxpayer!

Another advantage to the list is the rapid release of information to hundreds of people with the simplicity of e-mail. If deputies were searching for a missing or wanted person, a photograph could be attached to the mail and distributed to the entire list in minutes, rather than waiting for the news agencies to distribute it for us.

As with any new program, participation by the public is very important to the success of the Electronic Neighborhood Watch. Our ultimate goal is to have every resident of Cattaraugus County and the immediate surrounding area participating in the program. The more interaction and cooperation we get from the people we serve, the more successful we will become in doing the important job of protecting the public.

For instructions on how to join the Cattaraugus County Sheriff's Office Electronic Neighborhood Watch mail list, click here!