Neighborhood watch could control crime
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, February 29, 2000
To solve the county’s increasing drug problem, everyone must get involved, Lawrence County Sheriff Roy Smith said.
Tuesday, February 29, 2000
To solve the county’s increasing drug problem, everyone must get involved, Lawrence County Sheriff Roy Smith said.
Although the average citizen might not think he or she can do anything about drug problems in his or her neighborhood, the neighborhood that has the problem is one of the prime places for community involvement to start, Smith said.
"It takes everybody getting involved to eradicate drugs," Smith said. "Neighborhood watch programs are great, but unfortunately, the trend seems to be that after they run for a short while, the numbers dwindle and the program fades out."
Because the program is beginning to fade in some areas, Smith said the county sheriff’s department is working to revamp the process and to generate additional interest among Lawrence County residents.
"We have to work together to keep the community active," he said. "We are working on several programs, one of which is neighborhood watch, to rejuvenate them and keep people interested."
The reduction in participation in the Neighborhood Watch program could be the result of a misconception about the amount of time necessary to successfully implement the program.
"This is not a hugely involved process and I’m not sure if people realize that," Smith said. "Instead, it is simply a bunch of people willing to look out for each other."
The program can successfully operate with a minimum of one safe house per block, Smith explained. The safe house is for children who need a fast place to go when approached by strangers or when they are frightened, he added.
"There are times when the children simply will need a place to run to, a place they know is safe, where they can get inside and put a locked door between them and someone who potentially wants to do them harm," Smith said. "Anyone that is home the majority of the time could volunteer for this - it could be a retired person, someone who works from home or some other, similar situation."
Additionally, other residents would be needed to volunteer to take notes on suspicious activity to report to the sheriff’s department.
"All this person would need would be a notebook that would fit in their pocket and a pen," Smith said. "If they see a lot of activity or a house that seems to have many cars visiting frequently – different cars, usually – the person would just write down some of those license numbers and give them to the law enforcement department that has jurisdiction in their area."
In most cases, if there is illegal activity at the residence in question, noticing they are being watched and their visitors’ license numbers are being recorded is enough incentive to make them leave the area, Smith said.
"Normally, if they see people writing things down, they will move right out of that neighborhood," he said.
When starting the program, however, it is important to know the other members, Smith warns.
"Not everyone that gets involved in a neighborhood watch program will have good motives," he said. "There are some people who use the opportunity to know when their neighbors aren’t home and will either alert thieves or potentially take things from an unsuspecting neighbor’s home when it is empty, so it is very important to know all the members well."
In most cases, however, the watch programs can be very successful and a good addition to the safety of a community, he said. If residents understand the process better and work together, it is a step in the right direction, Smith added.
"This is not a hugely involved thing," Smith said. "This is a small network of people willing to work together to promote safety and a drug-free environment in their immediate communities and it does make a difference."
For more information about the program, call the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department at 532-1441 or contact an alternate local law enforcement agency.