Each Shomrim group maintains its own dispatcher and 24-hour hotline,
[15] whose number is known throughout the Orthodox Jewish community.
[28]
Shomrim responds to a wide variety of crimes and cases, including reports of purse snatching, vandalism, car and bicycle thefts, and missing people. Volunteers patrol the city streets in the overnight hours as a deterrent presence.
[15] When they are not on duty, they remain on call,
[29][30] and are often summoned to help other Shomrim groups or other Jewish community rescue organizations such as
Hatzalah and
Chaverim during large-scale search and rescue operations.
[31]
Shomrim has been effective in apprehending suspects of burglaries
[2] robberies,
[4] assault,
[4] car thefts,
[32][33] vandalism,
[34] domestic violence,
[35] nuisance crimes,
[36] and antisemitic attacks.
[37] In an incident in 2010, four Brooklyn South Shomrim volunteers gave chase to a suspected child predator who drew a gun and shot each of them, after they had tackled him to the ground.
[38] The shooter was later acquitted of all charges except possessing a gun.
[39] Following that incident, the Brooklyn South Shomrim were issued
bullet-proof vests by the
New York State Senate.
[40]
