I was pretty sure I had fallen off the radar again - miss one meeting and that happens. You aren’t on the attendance sheet, so you don’t get the meeting’s minutes. The meeting’s minutes have the date of the next meeting, so you don’t show up at the next meeting either. You don’t get the notes from that meeting, and the cycle goes on.

You have successfully fallen off the radar.

It was Monday - the last one of the month - and although my calendar told me the Whitehall Crime Watch meeting was that evening, I realized at 4 p.m. I had not gotten an agenda or the usual reminder. As I thought more about it, I realized I had missed the last couple of meetings and was now out of the loop.

I called the police station only to find out there was not a meeting of this group that evening and the crime watch had been temporarily suspended for a number of reasons.

One of those reasons really bothered me. It was lack of participation.

It is funny how people’s engagement in proactive events tends to follow the rhythm of the issue at hand. For example, when there are issues with vandalism in a park, nearby residents come together to find ways to catch the perpetrators and ensure justice is served. But when the problem goes away or when there is no imminent problem, prevention finds its berth once again on the back burner.

Crime watch has been described as “the eyes and ears for the police” - and it works. When criminals know that people are being observant, it limits their opportunities to commit crime. It creates the culture of intolerance for unlawful behavior.

Law enforcement officials cannot be everywhere. They need the local citizens to keep them informed of what is going on in the community.

Crime watch is called neighborhood watch in some communities, and the way in which these operate from one community to another varies. Some are resident led while others are headed by the police. Regardless, both models are a two-way street. Crime watch is not vigilantism, and residents are strongly discouraged from taking matters into their own hands. But by being attuned to what is happening in their own neighborhoods and communicating with the police, residents contribute greatly to the safety of their community.

At the monthly meetings in Whitehall Township, there is an educational component in the form of a speaker from a local agency who shares information on a relevant topic. There also is a report from our local police department about the number and types of calls, arrests and crimes being committed. Most valuable to me has been the tips on prevention of the latest “crime du jour.” It changes one’s thinking about taking the safety of our community for granted when you are aware of the acts being committed in our own backyards.

If your town or city has a crime watch, consider getting involved. In January, when my town resurrects its group, I know I will be there. We have a safe community with relatively low crime -and very little serious crime. We can keep it that way, but only if everyone plays a role.

Denise Continenza is family and consumer sciences educator with Penn State Extension, Lehigh and Northampton counties.