DeKalb County Police came out to Hunter's Vineyard in August and walked us through what it takes to start a Neighborhood Watch. The turnout was strong, and we're going forward.

Here's the honest requirement: the county will not activate a watch or install a sign until at least 75% of our households sign up. That's 77 of our 102 homes. It's a real number and there's no way around it.

What signing up actually means

You give your full name, email address and phone number for the county's participation form. That's all DeKalb asks for.

You get a block captain, a neighbor on your own street, whose name and contact information you'll have.

If you see something, you call 911 first, then tell your block captain.

Nobody patrols. Nobody confronts anyone. DeKalb's own material calls a watch "a communications network," and that's exactly what it is.

It costs nothing

There is no fee to join, and the county provides the signs free once we reach 75%. This is completely separate from contributions. Signing up does not commit you to anything financial, and every household on our five streets is welcome to join whether they contribute or not.

We need 11 to 13 block captains

One captain covers 8 to 10 homes on their own street. The job is a visit to your neighbors to collect signatures, then passing along what people report. It is not a patrol and it is not a time sink. If you'll take a block, email mailhvhoa@gmail.com and say which street you're on.

Ready to sign up?

Email mailhvhoa@gmail.com with your full name and phone number, or wait for your block captain to come by with the paper form. Either way counts toward the 75%.