Neighborhood Watch Groups Discuss Crime Prevention
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CBS 8 is taking action against crime tonight…
Neighborhood watch groups in Montgomery say crime prevention is at the top of their list of priorities. Some say the crimes are even driving homeowners out of their neighborhoods — so they’re doing something about it.
To combat the crime that’s driving homeowners away from their neighborhoods, neighborhood watch groups are sharing their ideas on what they can do to help Montgomery Police and the district attorney’s office fight crime. Authorities say it all starts by being a nosy neighbor.
“Neighbors help police the neighborhood.” It’s a message Montgomery County District Attorney, Daryl Bailey, wants every neighborhood watch group to know, so the blue lights aren’t outside your window.
“[Neighbors can] aid law enforcement in solving crimes. If neighbors see something that’s going on in their neighborhoods, they need to report it. They need to call police so we can have a faster response time and catch these people before the break into somebody’s house or car or whatever,” Said Bailey.
That’s exactly what’s happened to dozens of Montgomery neighborhoods. It’s why homeowners shared their crime prevention ideas at the “Gathering of the Neighborhoods,” sponsored by BONDS, or Building our Neighborhoods for Development and Success.
But for some like Daniel Paulk who lives in the Eastern Oaks neighborhood off Wares Ferry Road, he’s all about some nosy neighbors. He turns to social media to connect with his neighbors about any unusual activity.
“We see a lot of slow-moving vehicles that will just creep around the neighborhood so we’ll make that known on the website just to say, hey, does anyone know what’s going on here?” Said Paulk
But for Maxine Crawford who lives in the Brookview Manor neighborhood in North Montgomery, she says the nosy neighbor no longer exists from when she moved in during the 1960’s — so she’s hoping to take back something new to her neighborhood association.
” We have to keep an eye on it all the time so it’s not over-run with that type of thing,” Said Crawford.
A BONDS spokesperson tell us they hope informing these neighbors more about crime prevention, becomes a domino affect — leading to neighborhood beautification/cleanups — making these neighbohoods a better place and ultimately, a better Montgomery.
The meetings are happening once a month.
The next meeting will be held September 11th — the discussion will be on how neighborhood watch groups can use social media as a crime-fighting tool.
