Vigilance, Communication Paramount in Neighborhood Watch Program

A few years ago Carrie Josephson held a garage sale at her home near Lake Owasso.

The sale was held during a school day and Josephson was surprised when a couple teenage boys stopped by. While she was talking to one of the boys, his friend grabbed her cash box and ran through her backyard toward Maple View Park.

“I thought ‘Oh, man that’s really bold because it was right in front of me.’” she said. “But it was amazing how fast the police came, and they walked around and talked to neighbors, and actually found the kids.”

Josephson’s held close ties with Roseville police as a neighborhood block captain since about 2002. After the incident, she said she felt like her relationship paid off.

Roseville has more than 100 citizen block captains who work to alert police to suspicious activity, organize block parties, attend annual meetings with the police department and disseminate information about the city’s crime alerts, statistics and trends.

“It’s tough for the Roseville police to be everywhere all the time so we encourage the block captains to be our eyes and ears,” said Corey Yunke, .

Josephson said that while her home on the 2900 block of Galtier Street is not exactly in a dangerous area “especially compared with what you see on TV,” she gets satisfaction from keeping her neighbors informed and helping them feel secure.

Recently, neighbors spotted people sneaking through backyards and found strange personal items in their lawns.

They told her the next day and she relayed the information on to police.

Josephson also said that working as a block captain has helped her 13-year-old daughter to be more aware of danger.

“She pays more attention: Why is that out there? What is he doing?” Josephson.

Josephson said she’s looking forward to the neighborhood block party planned, in coordination with National Night Out, for Tuesday (Aug. 7) evening.

She plans to find out about changes to the neighborhood—who’s moved in, who’s got a new car—and to enjoy the potluck.

“We ask people to bring an appetizer or dessert,” she said. “We did a grill out the first year, but it was too much effort.”