NewsOctober 27, 2005
Residents in Cape work to put Neighborhood Watch into effect
Individuals who live, work or own property in the downtown Cape Girardeau area now have a Neighborhood Watch program. The area consists of those city blocks whose boundaries are Spanish Street on the east, Sprigg Street on the west, North Street on the north and Independence Street on the south (including both sides of the blocks)...
Individuals who live, work or own property in the downtown Cape Girardeau area now have a Neighborhood Watch program.
The area consists of those city blocks whose boundaries are Spanish Street on the east, Sprigg Street on the west, North Street on the north and Independence Street on the south (including both sides of the blocks).
The group is made up of block captains, who are members of the Neighborhood Connections group, a grassroots organization focusing on community safety, beautification and tenant/landlord issues. The Neighborhood Watch program, the first major project launched by the group, was implemented to deter crime.
Neighborhood Connections meets every third Thursday of the month.
Recently erected signs stake the area's perimeter. The signs were paid for through the city of Cape Girardeau and erected onto existing stop or no-parking signs poles. The Neighborhood Watch signs sit a little lower than the pre-existing signs, but they're still easily noticed.
What to look for
Donna Maguire, a block captain who lives on Bellevue Street, doesn't think the area is unsafe but likes to think everyone can work a little harder and do more for the neighborhood. Living downtown she believes that visitors who may add noise to the area is just something one has to accept. But the watch group needs to know about the noises that aren't normal. "We need to learn about what to look for," she said.
Neighborhood Connections designated 12 watch block captains who determined sign placement and are responsible for staying alert to unusual and suspicious activity in their designated boundaries. Getting information from individuals in their assigned area concerning suspicious activity and contacting the authorities is part of their job description.
Cape Girardeau police Cpl. Ike Hammonds, public relations crime prevention officer, has met with the group and has been involved with setting up Neighborhood Watch programs in at least four Cape Girardeau neighborhoods.
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"The Neighborhood Connections Neighborhood Watch is a big residential and commercial area. I consider them a proactive crime prevention group, and I'm glad to see them doing this," he said.
Other than the Neighborhood Connections group, there is only one other group he knows of that meets regularly. Law enforcement is only asked to attend when the situation merits their presence. Neighborhood Watch helps the law enforcement system work better.
Hammonds said, "You can't just sit back and assume you know what the issues are." Those who attend can alert the police to know what, where and when to look for problems.
Other Neighborhood Watch groups Hammonds has assisted in the last decade have quit meeting regularly because members, typically renters, are generally transient.
Hammond knows the SEMO Neighborhood Watch group in the South Ellis/Morgan Oak area continues to meet with law enforcement. Officers are requested at the meetings to answer questions on changing issues including noise violations, drugs, littering, derelict vehicles and upholding minimum property standards.
A place to go
Member Bekki Cook said Neighborhood Connections gives people a place to go with problems as opposed to going to the police directly, before they're sure of what they're getting into. The meeting can empower everyone who participates. "It's all about communication. We can build relationships and friendships [with this group]. It gives people a place to call or make concerns known where they can visit with the local authorities. It's much different when a group of 10 talks to the police than just one individual," she said.
Neighborhood Connections was formed only a few months ago by a few concerned volunteers who discovered that some of their neighbors were living in substandard housing. As a unified force the group tackles issues that the diverse community of renters and homeowners, businesses and college students, retirees, single people, families of all races and ethnic backgrounds face.
For more information about becoming a block captain in the recently formed group, call 334-5876.
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