Published: October 06, 2009 10:16 pm      

Organizations' plan is aiming for safer neighborhoods

Local groups propose starting watch programs throughout Cass County

Several people attended informational sessions on a proposal that could make Cass County neighborhoods a safer place to live.

Diversity Dynamics and the Citizen Corps Council, along with Crime Stoppers, explained on Tuesday how the organizations have partnered to roll out a Safe Neighborhoods initiative in January. The intent is to train people in how to spot trouble such as suspected drug activity in their neighborhoods.

“We don’t want you to become a nosey neighbor,” Emergency Management Agency Director Alvin Beckman said. “We want you to be aware of what’s going on in your particular neighborhood.”

Beckman, who also heads up Citizen Corps, wants people to get to know their neighbors, become friends with them, know when they go to work and what type of vehicles they drive. He used an example of a burglary in Galveston that could have been prevented if the resident had participated in the town’s watch program.

Someone in a van pulled up to a woman’s house and began loading items into the van. Her neighbors witnessed the incident but thought she was moving. They learned later the woman had been burglarized.

“You’re going to know if something is out of place,” Beckman said of an effective neighborhood watch.

If something is amiss, such as a strange vehicle parked in the driveway, police can be called to check it out.

Logansport Mayor Mike Fincher said because budget constraints and shrinking tax revenues will likely make getting emergency responders to where they are needed tougher, the neighborhood watch approach to crime prevention may become more important. However, the mayor stressed that private citizens would not be acting as law enforcement officers.

“We don’t need a bunch of Wyatt Earps running around with guns ablazing, but what we do need is eyes and ears in the neighborhoods that can pick up on the little things that are out of place and don’t seem right,” Fincher said.

The program’s organizers, which include local law enforcement, are planning a series of training sessions to include the signs of drug and gang activity and child and elderly abuse, as well as how children can walk to and from school safely.

The training will be made available for Spanish-speaking residents. Representatives from Tyson Foods and El Puente, which is the Emmaus Mission Center’s Hispanic translation/crisis center, offered to help clear any language barriers.

Beckman said the hope is to get grant money for educational materials. The more the public is involved, the better off the community will be, he said.

“If we have safe neighborhoods, people are going to want to come to Logansport,” said Beckman, who wants people to work together to help reduce the crime rate and create a good place to raise kids.

• Kevin Lilly is news editor of the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached at (574) 732-5117 or kevin.lilly@pharostribune.com.



Want to start a program?

Anyone interested in starting a Safe Neighborhoods programs may call either Emergency Management Agency director Alvin Beckman at (574) 722-2484 or Joyce Gebhardt of Diversity Dynamics at (574) 753-3533 for more information.