Published: May 08, 2008 04:15 pm            

East side neighbors efforts succeeding in slowing crime

By Kelly Young

kyoung@jacksonvilleprogress.com

When a slew of burglaries and thefts hit the east side of town late last year, the residents of San Antonio and El Paso streets decided they had had enough.

While the neighborhood crime watch they developed in response to the crimes has only been in place for four months now, both the Jacksonville police and the empowered residents agree the program has been a resounding success.

“We haven’t had any incidents in the past few months. Since we started the neighborhood watch, we have had a sharp decrease in the amount of crime that is taking place around here,” said Amanda Childress, a resident of San Antonio Street and the coordinator of the watch program. “I think we had one break-in back in February, but I don’t think we have had anything like that happen since then.”

Beginning as only a few blocks on a few streets, the watch continues to grow, and Childress said she is more than happy to welcome new members into the fold.

“It keeps expanding to include more and more streets, and anyone interested in joining us is welcome to call me. In all, I’ve got contact info for between 30 and 35 families that are participating in this,” she said.

Tonya Sonntag, detective and crime prevention officer for the Jacksonville Police Department, said Childress has been a phenomenal crime watch coordinator.

“She has done an excellent job setting this thing up. I wish I had 10 of her — with two in each district of the city — to really get the ball rolling. It’s always great to see citizens being proactive,” Sonntag said. “The people in that watch have been making a pretty good effort to work with the local police, and as a result there has been a noticeable decrease in property crimes in the area.”

JPD statistics tell the tale of just how effective the east side crime watch has been. In the three months prior to the formation of the watch, that area of town suffered six thefts, two burglaries and three cases of graffiti. In the four months since the watch was implemented there has been one burglary, zero thefts and zero instances of new graffiti.

Sonntag said other sections of town already have established neighborhood watches, and she encourages all areas of Jacksonville to institute similar measures.

“We absolutely encourage every neighborhood in the community to form a watch of their own. A watch will unite the community, increase crime reporting, decrease crime and enhance homeland security,” Sonntag said. “A neighborhood watch isn’t a police program as much as it’s a community program with police assistance. We are here for them with any assistance they need, whether it be training, information or programs. I would eventually like to see all the different groups communicating with each other and getting together to help one another.”

While Childress said some members of the watch have become particularly involved, she feels some people are resistant to joining the effort because they feel it would be too much hard work.

“It’s important for people to know that a crime watch is really not labor-intensive; it’s just being aware of what’s going on in your neighborhood and calling the police when you see anything suspicious,” Childress said. “One of the main points of a neighborhood crime watch is getting to know your neighbors — we are getting back to forming the type of community that watches out for each other.”

        

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