Community Watch Service

Community Watch is a full featured, OUTBOUND and INBOUND notification system that enables agencies to quickly, accurately and automatically send ALERT and NON-ALERT messages to literally thousands of telephones, cellular phones, and fax machines within minutes. Community watch was designed for Law Enforcement and Emergency Response with emphasis placed on the needs of Community Oriented Policing.

The Community Watch automated system offers a hotline number to report crime tips to so that there is no live assistance. The person calling this number will give a voice-recorded message to the system; the system will then transfer a message to a live extension informing the attendant that a recorded crime tip is in the system.

If you answer your telephone and hear, "This is Plymouth Township Police with an important message", do not hang up. Please listen and follow the prompts to hear the recorded message. It could be information about a gas spill or lost child in the area. This notification system, which has been in use for approximately one year, allows police to get information to hundreds of telephones within minutes. This method is much quicker than the door-to-door approach, although that will still be used in addition to Community Watch when necessary.

Recently, two new features have been added to the Police Department's Community Watch Notification System. Residents can now obtain frequently requested documents through the fax on demand feature. You need only call Community Watch at (734) 414-7518, listen to a voice menu of available documents, make a selection and enter your fax number. The automatic system will deliver the requested document(s). The system may be accessed 24 hours a day, seven days a week and includes the following documents:

A crime tip hotline is also now operational. Callers can leave a voice-recorded message to the system. The tips will then be collected by police personnel. Residents should continue to use 911 for crimes in progress or other emergencies and (734) 354-3250 if they wish to speak directly to the on-duty Dispatcher.

The Community Watch Notification System was designed for law enforcement agencies who place emphasis on Community Oriented Policing. Police simply enter a voice message, activate the system and within minutes a select group will receive the information. By creating individual lists, police can target messages to specific groups such as block leaders, jewelry stores, banks, day care facilities and so on.

Officer Jamie Senkbeil, who oversees the program for the Plymouth Township Police Department, offers this recent example, "We had information about a pattern of larceny from vehicle crimes taking place at day care centers. Apparently the perpetrator would wait for a parent to escort their child into the building and then seize the opportunity to steal the purse or wallet from within their vehicle. We immediately utilized Community Watch to alert the day care centers in the area."