July 11, 2008 — In an effort to reactivate existing neighborhood crime watch groups and form ones where they don't exist, the Police Department is inviting St. John residents to a 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. meeting July 18 at St. Ursula's Multipurpose Center.
Police Public Information Officer Melody Rames said the move is one of the goals of the Community Integration Team. Better known by its acronym, CIT, the group serves as liaison between police and the community. Helen Simon chairs the St. John group.
Instead of complaining about past issues with the Police Department, Simon is looking forward.
"The Police Department needs to be held accountable for their part in getting goals accomplished, but they can't do it alone," Simon said.
When neighborhood crime watch groups are in place, members will be encouraged to report suspicious activities and help solve crimes.
Simon spoke about the challenges of St. John neighborhoods with large numbers of vacation villas. She said that one solution is to have rental car agencies stop putting their names on rental cars so would-be burglars or robbers would not know that the house was rented by vacationers.
St. John has sporadic problems with thieves targeting villas. In some cases, the villa renters leave doors open or unlocked.
Simon also noted that information about protecting themselves against crime should be provided to vacationers.
Rames said in addition to CIT members, Police Department crime prevention officers will attend the meeting. The recruiting director will also be on hand to provide information on becoming a member of the Police Department's Auxiliary program.
In troubled economic times, Rames noted that signing on with the Auxiliary program provides a part-time job.
As for other police-related issues, Rames said that police staff will make note of them for discussion at a later meeting. For more information, call 643-7728.
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