Neighborhood Watch: Citizen groups
can turn block into crime fighters

August 26, 2015
Santa Paula News

If you see something say something and its even better if the whole block is aware of possible crime according to the community wide meeting to introduce residents to Neighborhood Watch (NW) held last week at the Community Center.

About 25 people from throughout Santa Paula attended the meeting sponsored by the Santa Paula Police Department; Mayor John Procter and Councilwoman Jenny Crosswhite were also in the audience.

Citizens Patrol Richard Macias was manning a table with more than a dozen informational flyers and brochures ranging from a home security checklist and how to avoid scams to tips for seniors and the “You Look Inside Crime Prevention” a.k.a. The McGruff Files the famed canine crime fighter. 

SPPD Cadet Martha Reynolds-Brown, the NW coordinator, welcomed those interested in learning more about how they can make a safer community before Sgt. Jimmy Fogata spoke about the program.

There are 16 NW groups in the city but the SPPD is urging more citizens to get involved to help the spike of crime. 

Fogata noted that with crime, time is of the essence: “If you think you should call,” but hesitate, “it could be too late…”

He noted NW “Will give you the tools and knowledge to make your neighborhood safe.”

Citizens Patrol is also looking for volunteers and people that would donate their time to work at the station on simple clerical tasks are also needed.

Fogata said the audience was prime for starting NW or volunteering, as “You’ve already proven you’re concerned by being here.”

Police Chief Steve McLean said he is concerned about the rise in crime, a trend across the nation.

There are several factors contributing to the spike: realignment that allowed prisoners early release. McLean said of the nine released locally four were responsible for four of the nine homicides that occurred in 2013-2014.

“It’s really, really frustrating to me,” to have such challenges, and “figure out a way to keep you safe.”

One tool that is a community asset is NW: “A well-organized, thriving Neighborhood Watch is worth more than 100 cops on the street,” and McLean said when he was a Los Angeles Sheriff’s Captain in Alta Dena the NW groups will responsible for an array of arrests.

“There were nine ‘Bloods’ and ‘Crips’ that were doing burglaries,” that were caught in the act by police contacted by NW.

“There are criminals in every neighborhood but when there’s Neighborhood Watch word gets around,” that suspicious people, actions and crime are being reported.

And then, noted McLean, the criminals go elsewhere.

“One Neighborhood Watch was mostly retired people that would come out at 3 p.m. and watch the kids,” as they walked home from school.

Another group patrolled their neighborhood at night with flashlights demonstrating that people were out and aware.

The bump is crime is not because police have not been trying: “The ethics of our police have not changed and is still as high as ever,” but McLean noted although the SPPD now has 28 sworn officers it still remains understaffed. 

McLean noted, “We went from 20 officers—I was the 21st—to 28 and we’re now authorized for 32,” still below the 34 officers that wore the SPPD badge in 2010.

“Last year our officers arrested 119 gang members and although crime is going up,” said McLean, “we’re putting away a lot of bad people.”

For more information on starting a NW group call the SPPD at 805-525-4474.

According to its website, Neighborhood Watch is one of the most effective and least costly ways to prevent crime and reduce fear in a neighborhood. The programs fight the isolation and separation that crime creates and feeds upon forgeing bonds among area residents and businesses, helps reduce burglaries and robberies, and improves relations between police and the communities they serve.

Law enforcement agencies throughout the nation encourage NW as a crime prevention strategy that enlists the active participation of residents by organizing the community into a cohesive unit working toward the goal of building a safer, crime-free neighborhood.





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