Jillian Dickens
Northern News Services

Rankin Inlet (Sep 21/05) - "This would be a good thing to get started. It would help make the people feel safer. It is a wonderful program the community could benefit from."

These comments come straight from the mouths of RCMP members supportive of establishing a neighbourhood watch program to curb the number of property crimes.

The idea was recently brought to their attention after a community meeting in Iqaluit was held to spark interest in establishing the Niaqunnguu Community Watch Program in the neighbourhood community of Apex.

But despite Rankin Inlet RCMP support, no attempts have been made to establish such a program.

Cpl. Iain Monteith said there are several reasons people don't get involved, including a belief that there are enough police to do the job and the fact people move from house to house too often to get organized. "If we had some static residents, setting up a block watch would be a lot easier."

Still, he believes the number of all terrain vehicle thefts and residential break-and-enters could be reduced through a resident-driven program.

Neighbourhood watches encourage and train residents to watch out for one another and report crime they see in the area to police.

Rankin RCMP Sgt. Gavin Nash agrees the program would help, especially in the way of traffic related crimes, but is hesitant. "Neighbourhood watches are finicky. I don't know if it's because they are small, grassroots organizations but often it ends up that people are all gung ho coming out of the gates but after awhile there's just a couple left holding the bag," he said.

Counting the latest, three attempts have been made to get the program going in Apex, but none have been successful.

Five people have committed to the project following last week's meeting.

The hope is if the program succeeds in Apex, it will encourage other communities to follow its footsteps.