Watch Group Forms In Neighborhood Where Burglar Struck

Tonight could be the start of something big for neighbors near the Nashua Country Club. On the other hand, turnout for the inaugural Neighborhood Watch group might be sparse.

You just never know, says Community Policing Coordinator Ed Lecius.

"There could be two peope or there could be 2,000 – we'll see soon enough," said Lecius, who helps coordinate the city's 27 watch groups, most of which are quite actively involved in keeping an eye on their local streets.

"We know the neighborhood is pretty good – two of my former bosses live there, as well as former Mayor Streeter lives in that neighborhood, so I'd like to think we already have people watching. But maybe missing something; that's why we have watch groups," Lecius said.

The request for a watch group happens to coincide with , in which an alert neighbor called police, who were able to arrest a burglar caught in the act.

"That's exactly how it should work. We're looking for residents to call us if they see something that isn't right. And if it turns out to be nothing, so be it. What we don't want is people putting themselves in harm's way," Lecius said.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. and will be held at Nashua Country Club for starters. After that, hopefully someone will take the lead and, perhaps, be willing to host meetings.

"This is theirs once it gets rolling, so we'll need someone to be a leader. Once established, what we do is send all the watch group leaders a monthly report of police activity in their area and they distribute it to members. Some groups communicate with online groups," Lecius said. "We'll see what interest there is and where we go from there."

Of the city's 27 designated watch groups, all but four are active, Lecius said.

"We even have a busines group at Railroad Square – it's the only business watch group in the state, of business owners who got together last year to keep an eye on each other's businesses," Lecius said.

And there is no question that it has made a difference, he said.

"There are several success stories among our groups, of people who reported things that didn't look right, vehicles that shouldn't have been somewhere, or houses with issues going on that were brought to our attention, and we've resolved many of those issues, thanks to watch groups," Lecius said.

Crime Prevention Officer Jeff Connors will attend tonight's meeting, and the officers who normally patrol the area around the states streets will try to stop in to introduce themselves," Lecius said.

"Most encounters citizens have with the police is not good. We're usually going to be  stopping you for a ticket, or bringing you bad news, or arresting you. Starting a watch group is an opportunity to meet with the public on a 'nice' occasion," Lecius said.

It ties in with the same philosophy behind the city's Citizen Academy program, which has so far educated upwards of 1,000 residents  through a series of classes on how police go about their business, and why they do what they do.

"We get a chance to dispel these CSI shows on TV," Lecius said.

For more information contact Community Policing Coordinator Edward Lecius at (603) 594-3544.