Is Neighborhood Watch The Answer?

PRESCOTT - Amid con- cerns that the city of Waitsburg may be further reducing its public safety coverage from the Walla Walla Sheriff's Office under a new contract, some resi- dents say they are ready to start a neighborhood crime watch to cover the gaps.

At the Sheriff's Roundtable last Thursday at the Prescott School Library, residents told Undersheriff Edward Freyer they are worried about the crime rate in Waitsburg and what will hap- pen if the patrol coverage drops.

"Where is Waitsburg head- ed?" asked resident Ethan Car- penter.

Carpenter said he understands the city of Waitsburg cannot afford the current level of cover- age by the Walla Walla Sheriff's Office. The deputies now serve Waitsburg for 47.5 per week, and the city's new proposal is to cut those hours to 30 a week to save money.

But, Carpenter said the atmosphere in Waitsburg has changed since he was young and the city does not seem as safe as it had been. He said he is not happy that the city continues to cut the hours the deputies are in town as crime seems to be on the rise.

Freyer said the sheriff's office is currently performing the best it can with a lack of resources. Because the day-to-day operations take so much of the deputies' time, he said there isn't time left in the day to do emphasis patrols to mitigate crime. Freyer said he is also concerned about another proposed drop in coverage for Waitsburg.

"You want to be safe in your community," he said. "(Our cov- erage) is the buffer between you and the bad things out there."

Prescott resident Virginia Romine said she is worried about the recent shooting of two depu- ties in Spokane who were con- ducting a traffic stop. She said the same gang problems in Walla Walla and Yakima are likely driv- ing right through her town.

And while the city is worried about being able to pay the bills, Carpenter said he is worried about the recent gas can thefts in his neighborhood and other criminal activity in the city that seems to be escalating.

Carpenter said he wanted to know more about what he could do to help protect his family and his community.

"What avenues do I take?" he asked Freyer. "I'd kind of like to get something going."

Freyer said it only takes one person to establish a neighbor- hood watch that could be very effective in minimizing crime.

"Good things tend to grow," Freyer said. "If you have a neigh- borhood watch of one - that's a beginning."

Freyer invited Carpenter and whoever else is interested to meet with a deputy at the sheriff's of- fice in Walla Walla to learn more about how to start and operate an official neighborhood crime watch. Also, residents could get more information from officers at the National Night Out event to be held in August at Pioneer Park.

"It's really up to you and the neighborhood," he said.

The program, according to the sheriff's office website, was created to help "neighbors learn to watch out for each other and aggressively report suspicious activity."

Freyer said this means neigh­bors will notify one another when they are leaving for vaca­tion and will communicate better with each other to keep homes and families safe. In addition to communicating with neighbors, Freyer told Carpenter he needed an easy, convenient and imme­diate way to get through to the sheriff's deputy on patrol without having to go through dispatch. But, Freyer said there is a limit to what the sheriff's office wants neighborhood watch members to do. He said the watch is a tool for reporting crime to deputies and not a tool for stopping crime. The office doesn't want residents confronting criminals.

"The dynamics of our world have changed," he said.

MORE INFORMATION To get more information or start a neighborhood watch pro­gram in Walla Walla County, call Deputy Ian Edwards at 509-524- 5400 or email him at iedwards@ co.walla-walla.wa.us. The website for the Walla Walla Area Crime Watch website also has great information on keeping your property and fam­ily safe. Visit www.wwacw.com.