Congresswoman asks for changes in neighborhood watch - KMSP-TV

Congresswoman Corrine Brown says something must be done when it comes to neighborhood watches. She says the incident with Trayvon Martin has brought to light some of the issues regarding the program. In a sit down interview Monday with FOX 35, she said George Zimmerman should not have pursued Trayvon Martin nor had a gun acting as a watch captain.

She now tells Fox 35 she wants to make changes. Those changes would include a national registry for neighborhood watches across the county, training for those involved in the watch program and even background checks for its members. George Zimmerman was the neighborhood watch captain when he shot and killed Trayvon Martin. "It's disturbing to me that they say the neighborhood watch person, well it wasn't an official neighborhood watch. It was self appointed neighborhood watch."

The neighborhood watch in Zimmerman's neighborhood was not registered with the sheriff's association, but they are not required too. The Sanford Police Department did help the organization.

On Tuesday Trayvon Martin's parents will testify at a Congressional hearing on hate crimes. Congresswoman Brown says one of the things they will talk about is the neighborhood watch. "That is one thing we are going to have a hearing on, one of the aspects of it. One, you don't follow the person, two you don't carry a gun and you follow the direction of the police officer or dispatcher."