Locals to participate in National Night Out

By Lori Porter Acorn Staff Writer

A local man is waging his own war on crime.

When John Di Guiseppe learned about a home invasion robbery in his Three Springs neighborhood last December, he decided it was time to revive a Neighborhood Watch Program.

Di Guiseppe approached the board of the South Shore Hills Homeowners’ Association, of which he’s president, requesting funding to reinstate the program and replacing old rusty signs with bright new blue and white ones. The association paid for the new signs and the city of Thousand Oaks installed them.

In addition, Di Guiseppe registered Thousand Oaks with the National Neighborhood Watch program. Because public safety was important to him, Di Guiseppe also established a security committee within the homeowners’ group.

Since December, Di Guiseppe, who has a bachelor of art’s degree in criminology, has been invited to speak at various homeowner association meetings, encouraging and educating residents on the importance of Neighborhood Watch.

To date, Di Guiseppe has started six similar efforts in Thousand Oaks neighborhoods and especially in the Westlake Village portion of T.O.

To send a loud and clear message to criminals that the residents of T.O. and Westlake won’t tolerate crime, Di Guiseppe said he’ll keep the momentum going by promoting a Neighborhood Watch "National Night Out" on Tues., Aug. 5 from 7 to 9 p.m.

On National Night Out, participating residents turn out their lights, lock their doors and go outdoors to visit and network with their neighbors. They carry flashlights on the streets and sidewalks during the event that seeks to bond community members and local law officers.

Participating neighborhoods are to be visited by peace officers while residents gather outside in the atmosphere of a block party. It gives citizens an opportunity to get acquainted with each other while sharing crime prevention information.

"If you don’t know your neighbor, you don’t know if that strange car in their driveway while they are on vacation belongs there," Di Guiseppe said.

National Night Out is celebrating a 20th anniversary with 32 million communities participating around the U.S.

All communities, whether they have a Neighborhood Watch Program or not, can participate in National Night Out.

For information on National Night Out or to establish a Neighborhood Watch, send a letter to Di Guiseppe at P.O. Box 1773, Agoura Hills, CA 91376, or e-mail him at Johnonwatch@aol.com.