The City of Ann Arbor, Michigan, has decided to remove all its anti-crime and neighborhood watch signs to promote inclusivity or some other such nonsense.
City officials have been debating the issue since 2025. But now, it appears the signs are headed for the trash bin.
From Fox News:
Democrat-dominated Ann Arbor is raising eyebrows and garnering widespread mockery for removing all of its anti-crime watch signs across the city to be more "inclusive."
The move even prompted a New York City Council member, Republican Vickie Paladino, to say, "They’re just insane."
The Michigan city announced on Tuesday that, at the direction of the City Council, it completed the citywide removal of more than 600 neighborhood watch signs. In a statement, the city explained that "removing the signs aligns the city’s environment with its commitment to inclusive, evidence-based public safety."
The decision to remove the signs was made in a unanimous 10-0 City Council vote in December, according to local outlet The Midwesterner. The city said the move is "fostering trust, belonging and welcoming neighborhoods for all residents and visitors."
The resolution to remove the signs said that the neighborhood watch programs “were often rooted in assumptions about who did and did not ‘belong’ in a neighborhood, reinforcing race-based hyper-vigilance and suspicion particularly toward Black, Brown, and other marginalized residents and visitors.”
In its statement, the city said the program is now “defunct” and that it emerged “during a period of national anxiety about crime and social change.”
It also argued that the signs do not “reduce crime and can reinforce biased surveillance.”
"Such signage," the city said, "does not reduce crime and can reinforce biased surveillance."
The city allocated $18,000 for the removal of the signs. The mayor posted a video saying the signs are “inconsistent with our values.”
Many users on social media mocked the city’s decision.
Ann Arbor is removing “Neighborhood Crime Watch” signs so they can be more “welcoming and inclusive”.
— Senator Aric Nesbitt (@SenAricNesbitt) December 16, 2025
Who does this make the community more “welcoming” for other than criminals? pic.twitter.com/pb4pjNuXee
YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS UP
— Commentary: Rush Limbaugh News (@ElRushboNews) April 30, 2026
Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor pulled $18,000 from the city's CASH RESERVES to remove 600 neighborhood watch signs.
His reason, in his own words: "Neighborhood watch signs are expressions of exclusion."
Councilmember Jen Eyer joined in. The 10-0… pic.twitter.com/fncwNBHMZk
When are voters going to stand up and take action? Ann Arbor MI is removing neighborhood watch signs b/c they don't follow the cities inclusiveness policies. We mustn't exclude criminals! What a bunch of morons. Vote these idiots out, people! https://t.co/QE5aLTkeTw
— Bruce Clark (@RealBruceClark) April 30, 2026
Despite what the city says, research shows that Neighborhood Watch signs can help to discourage crime in some cases. It depends on the kind of signs being posted. A review of these programs linked them to lower crime rates. Another study found that when burglars saw the signs, they were more likely to think residents would step in to stop them if they tried to break into homes.
But here’s the thing: Obviously the city council isn’t really serious about dealing with crime. The question is, why would residents rely on a government program to keep their streets safe anyway? They might not have the city’s signs, but nothing is stopping them from keeping an eye out in their own neighborhoods.
In other cities, volunteer patrols have helped communities deter crime by offering a visible presence to those who might consider burglarizing people’s homes. It seems the residents might have to deal with this without the help of their government.