Neighborhood Watch Citizens' patrol groups are designed to further the partnership between the Fresno County Sheriff's Office and the community it serves. The goal of the program is crime prevention, emphasizing the aspect of deterrence through visibility.

The primary tasks of citizens on patrol are to provide crime deterrence through high-visibility patrols, report in-progress crimes, and documentation of suspicious persons, activities, and unsafe neighborhood conditions.

Citizen patrols are limited to pre-designated areas selected by the Fresno County Sheriff's Neighborhood Watch Association. Currently, there are organized citizen patrol groups in the following areas: Biola, Caruthers, Calwa, Chestnut/Princeton, Del Rey, Easton, Fig Garden, Grantland/Shields, Mendota, Sunnyside, Squaw Valley, and Tarpey. Efforts are in progress to create groups in other areas of the county.