Posted on 03/26/2012 9:35:42 AM PDT by Tennessee Nana
CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- Inspired by his high school criminal justice class, Zachery Gallegos asked his neighbors in a developing subdivision to form a Neighborhood Watch program.
"Once we started talking about speeders and how little kids could get hurt, people said OK," the teen said.
So Thursday evening the Silver Springs subdivision, a new community off Old Freewill Road, became Bradley County's 39th Neighborhood Watch group.
"This program is for everybody," Lt. Bob Hancock of the Bradley County Sheriff's Office said before meeting with the group. "It is for affluent neighborhoods, apartment complexes, trailer parks, anyone."
Hancock coordinates the local programs for the department.
Forming a Neighborhood Watch is simple, Hancock told Silver Springs neighbors. There is no minimum number of members, but there needs to be enough people to see the entire neighborhood, he said. The only requirement is one neighborhood meeting a year. Watch captains should be familiar with their neighbors and introduce themselves to new arrivals.
"But don't be a spy," Hancock said.
"The No. 1 thing is safety," said Officer Doug Boucher, who patrols the sector where the neighborhood is located.
He referred to the ongoing Sanford, Fla., case where a man described as a Neighborhood Watch volunteer is accused of shooting and killing teenager Trayvon Martin.
"I don't know what happened there," Boucher said. "All I can tell you is you've got to be safe."
Watch volunteers who encounter someone breaking the law shouldn't engage them, he said.
"If you look out the window and see somebody busting a window out, all you need to do is call us," Boucher said.
And call quickly, he said. Don't spend minutes thinking about it.
"Because if we catch them with the stuff, they are caught," Hancock said.
When suspects are caught red-handed, he said, there will often be no trial and no need for courtroom testimony.
"It's being a good neighbor," said Silver Springs resident Steve LeClair. "We already have an informal homeowners association. I'm supportive of a Neighborhood Watch. It is just something more we will all have in common."
Youth pastor Collin Cooke stopped to talk while reseeding his lawn.
"Our neighbors have been wonderful anyway," he said.
During the recent storms, he said, he and his wife stayed with relatives while the electricity was out. But they drove around Silver Springs too, checking on others and sharing information.
"That's kind of what Neighborhood Watch is about, too," he said.
• Determine if there is neighborhood interest.
• Call the sheriff's office or your local police department for advice. In Bradley County, 728-7311 for Lt. Bob Hancock
• Schedule a meeting time and place.
• To be certified by the sheriff's department, have at least one meeting a year.
Source: Bradley County Sheriff's Department
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