Ann Arbor removes last Neighborhood Crime Watch sign to be 'inclusive' to people of color

Ann Arbor, Michigan has removed all of their Neighborhood Crime Watch signs. The last one was torn last week in a ceremony attended by City Council members Cynthia Harrison and Jen Eyer, along with Mayor Christopher Taylor. They took down the signs to be "inclusive" and to make people of color feel "welcome."

"We want to be inclusive," Harrison said, "and there are people that don't feel welcome. And that is not who we are. That does not align with our values. And so, this is a great day!" There were 600 blue-and-white Neighborhood Crime Watch signs in the city as of December, but now they're all gone.

The removal of the signs comes after the Neighborhood Crime Watch program has substantially ended. "The city hasn't had an active neighborhood watch program for years," reports WAMU. "Critics say it didn't reduce crime nearly as much as it targeted people of color."

Eyer spoke out against the signs as well, saying, "City staff reviewed the status of the Neighborhood Watch program and confirmed it is defunct. The hotline listed on the signs is no longer monitored, and the signs are not connected to any current public safety program or strategy."

She went on to say, "Studies show Neighborhood Watch programs do not reliably reduce crime and can contribute to biased reporting and surveillance-based approaches that undermine trust, particularly for people of Color.

"That was weighed against the harm of leaving misleading signage in public spaces and the need to align public safety messaging with how the city actually operates today," she said.

Speaking to Michigan Daily in January after the City Council voted to remove the signs, college freshman LSA said, "Seeing signage in the surrounding areas of your school could feel like there is a level of surveillance and suspicion.

"That feeling is particularly more acute for students of [c]olor, especially if you come from somewhere you have experienced or are familiar with racialized suspicion," the student said. "Some students living in these neighborhoods might feel safer seeing any signage, so I can understand that it would potentially improve their sense of safety. But I don’t see how signs that promote vigilance would foster any sense of belonging."

The Ann Arbor City Council voted to remove the signs in December, putting aside funds from cash reserves to cover the cost of pulling them down. Taylor told residents they can still be involved in "crime oversight" via the Ann Arbor Independent Community Police Oversight Commission.

He told residents he was "unaware of any evidence to support the proposition that the signs were effective deterrents. The signs conveyed disinformation and an ethos of exclusion," he went on. "We will continue to promote safety and community policing through AAPD communication channels and ICPOC."