"Not in my neighborhood" is the hot word on the streets of Southwest Detroit. HEAT® teamed with the Southwest Detroit Sub Zone Community Policing Board of Directors in February 1999 to launch a pilot program, Watch Your Block (Cuida Tu Cuadra), aimed at reducing the number of auto thefts within the Southwest Detroit communities. By the end of the program in October, more than 30 stolen moter vehicles had been recovered, suspected auto thieves were arrested and peace of mind was returned to residents and business owners.

The initiative, Watch Your Block, Call HEAT®, was a collaborative effort between HEAT®, Detroit Police Department and the 60,000 citizens who live and work in Southwest Detroit. "The aggressive partnership between HEAT® and the Southwest Detroit Sub Zone Community Policing Board literally put the report auto theft message in the hands of residents in the 3rd and 4th Precinct neighborhoods," says Terri Miller, Director of HEAT®.

According to Miller, Detroit Police Community Relations officers organized a walk the block effort as an extension of Watch Your Block, Call HEAT®. Community activists joined officers to distribute HEAT®," says Miller. One goal was to raise awareness among Hispanic and African Americans who make up the majority of residents living in Southwest Detroit. "We were successful in reaching an audience that knew very little about the tipline and made a difference by reducing the occurrence of auto thefts overall," Miller added.

The program has produced over 30,000 bi-lingual informational brochures for this alliance effort and continues to receive requests for additional materials. The Watch Your Block, Call HEAT® alliance effort will be rolled out in another city soon. If your local police department is interested please call (313) 832-2210.