.
Search
 Email this articleE-mail this story  Discuss this articleWrite letter to editor  Discuss this articleOrder a classified ad  Print this page

Residents form neighbourhood watch

Paul Bickford
Northern News Services

Hay River (Oct 17/05) - Neighbourhood Watch was launched Oct. 5 in Hay River.

There was no ribbon-cutting ceremony, but 19 residents signed up for the crime-fighting effort.

"This was it," Al Gibb, one of the main organizers, said after the meeting.

That does not mean the Neighbourhood Watch is ready to start right away.

"What we're trying to do here is take our time and do it right," said Gibb.

It was the fourth attempt to get Neighbourhood Watch organized in Hay River.

Another meeting has been set for Oct. 19.

RCMP Cpl. Jim Forsey expects a Neighbourhood Watch committee to be selected at the next meeting and afterwards more homeowners could be contacted about participating.

"I'd say it will be a viable program by Christmas," said Forsey.

"We'll try to make a program that fits us in our community," he said.

Forsey said the fact people are organizing to fight crime may have a dampening effect on such activity in Hay River.

"That in itself was a crime prevention tool," Forsey said.

He noted that crime rates on Vale Island dropped after residents met to discuss crime in their neighbourhood.

The corporal said a properly-constructed Neighbourhood Watch is more effective in reducing crime than random information provided to police by citizens.