A drug dealer moves into your neighborhood. Cars zoom up and down your street at all hours of the day and night. You and your neighbors no longer feel your children are safe playing in their own front yard. What can you as a neighborhood do?

A little-known legal fact is neighborhood associations have victims' rights, similar to those of individual victims. Such rights include the right to notice of criminal proceedings, and the right to be present at any criminal proceeding at which the defendant may be present. By empowering these associations, neighborhoods can have input in the criminal justice system.

The Maricopa County Attorney's Office has published the Neighborhood Association Guide, which contains the list of victims' rights, applicable statutes and numerous resources for neighborhood associations. Also available for download is the Sex Offender Notification for Neighborhoods & Communities Brochure, which discusses Arizona's sex offender notification system.

It is our goal at the Maricopa County Attorney's Office to vigorously prosecute those who have broken the law, whether the victim is an individual or an entire neighborhood. Together, as a team, we can make our community a safe place to live