As Mobile Auto Tech professionals, we drive around our city every day in the course of our normal business operations. We have a unique opportunity that few business owners share because we develop a comprehensive vision of our community. We know what is happening in the city and we are away from home all day while providing our services or facilities in commercial parking lots, industrial areas, shopping complexes, civic centers, residential areas and other local neighborhoods. There is probably no other professional group better suited for grassroots awareness or intelligence in a town or city. Our normal methods of business operations can make an important contribution to neighborhood watch programs and even our national security.
About fifteen years ago, our company had expensive equipment stolen from the back of one of our service vehicles in broad daylight while it was parked in front of a store on a busy street. There were several people nearby, but no one was paying attention to the general movement of shoppers and strolling passersby. Minutes later we left the store and found that the equipment was missing. People are often unaware of what is going on around them. It should be noted that today’s mobile technology professionals do not share this common citizen trait. We all know how important it is to keep an eye on our equipment. Most of us have rigidly mounted equipment, locked tool boxes, and alarms. Over the years, we have gotten used to keeping an eye on our things while at workplaces. As we learned and observed, we decided to do more, to become the eyes and ears of the community. More than a decade ago in California we started the “Mobile Neighborhood Watch Patrol” that works in conjunction with the local Police Department, the Chamber of Commerce and the City Council to further protect citizens and their property from harm.
A Mobile Neighborhood Watch Patrol program is not difficult to set up and can be rewarding both personally and for your community. The program uses mobile-type companies like yours that they are trained to keep an eye on when they travel around town during their normal service calls. If we see suspicious behavior, we all have cell phones and can call you right away. Advertising is obviously good and helps to gain the trust of customers who can now distinguish their proactive and professional business practices from the most dubious services of the competition. We are all aware that people wanting services are reluctant to hand over their car keys for fear of having their personal property or entire car stolen. In this post, global 9/11 customers are more nervous and not feeling as safe as in earlier times. You can alleviate some of these perceived problems if you are part of the solution.
Creating a local Mobile Neighborhood Watch Patrol Program can also help you increase business contacts in your community. This program can be developed rapidly by networking with other unrelated and uncompetitive mobile companies and route drivers. Most mobile business owners know a lot of people and meet dozens of new people a week just like you. Most route drivers make between 20 and 60 deliveries a day and meet hundreds of people who could be your new leads. Networking with other mobile business owners and route drivers can contribute to your word of mouth marketing campaigns. By including these drivers and companies on your Neighborhood Mobile Watch Patrol program team, you can increase sales, reduce crime, and bring the community together. Everything is alright!
The success of these programs to prevent and deter crime has been documented in communities across the country. For crimes that have been committed, a tip from a member of the neighborhood mobile patrol team can make the difference between catching the culprit or creating a future victim. Recently, the success of our Mobile Neighborhood Watch Patrol was the subject of a news article from Salt Lake City, Utah.
http://newsnet.byu.edu/print/story.cfm/52535
Last week we were notified by a Texas Police Department coordinator who indicated that his city was also interested in such community-based successes and that they were implementing the program. Their city was located on a major two-lane highway suspected of carrying illegal drug trafficking and they had several unexplained murders where bodies had just been dumped. Over the past ten years, the Mobile Neighborhood Watch concept has been well received by hundreds of police departments and sheriffs across the country.
Our company has always believed in giving back to the communities we serve and, like you and your business, we realize that most of our business comes from direct marketing and word of mouth. As we speak to more and more police departments across the country and see the needs of our new Department of Homeland Security, it is clear that to prevent the next terrorist attack, everyone must pay attention. A single tip from an observant citizen or the Neighborhood Watch Program can thwart a murderous attack like 9/11 or find a heinous suspect on the run. After all, it was a mobile trucker who alerted police to a vehicle that matched the description of the Washington DC shooters not long ago. This is where the automotive mobile services technology industry can make a big difference.
A detailed plan document including the mission statement, area contacts, potential participants, overall strategy, sample press releases, and archived media coverage required to set up your business is available on the following website. Local Neighborhood Mobile Surveillance Patrol:
http://www.lancewinslow.org/nmwp.shtml
By bringing this plan to the attention of your local city or country Chamber of Commerce, Police Department and Leadership, you will be helping to prevent crime, capture dangerous criminals, and could possibly save our country from another international attack. It is time to act. You can use this plan document as a foundation and resource to help you establish your local program. You may need to modify your program to suit the needs of your local community. If you have any questions, you can contact us through our Foundation website above.