Introduced by Washington Police and Fire Services Chief Stacy Drakeford, Kimberly Grimes, crime prevention and community outreach manager for Washington Police and Fire Services, recently updated Washington (noon) Rotary club members on the status of the city’s Community Watch Program (also known as Neighborhood Watch).

The program literature states: “Community Watch, Block Watch, Town Watch, Building Watch, Crime Watch — whatever the name, it’s one of the most effective and least costly ways to prevent crime and reduce fear. Neighborhood Watch fights the isolation that crime both creates and feeds upon. It forges bonds among area residents, helps reduce burglaries and robberies and improves relations between police and the communities they serve.”

Grimes informed the club that there are currently at least 15 neighborhoods that have been organized under this program and more under way.

“If you believe your neighborhood could benefit from such a program, contact me, and I’ll have information sent to you and someone from the police department will visit you to discuss the program and its implantation,” Grimes said.

Washington (noon) Rotary consists of volunteers within Beaufort County, dedicating their efforts to charitable causes both locally and those to which its parent organization subscribes. Each year, this local group has raised and disbursed funds to local non-profits through creative fundraising activities. For more information, visit washingtonnoonrotary.org/ or www.facebook.com/WashingtonNoonRotary/.