news-record.com

GREENSBORO — Neighborhood community watch groups have a new outlet for joining hands and assisting police in suppressing crime.

The Greensboro Community Watch program and Web site launched this week for individual community watch groups to share information about criminal activity in their neighborhoods and assist police to identify trends.

Ryan Shell, who leads the Southside Community Watch program, said he created the site to address a communication problems among neighborhoods.

“I’ve noticed that the line of communication between the various watches is virtually nonexistent,” Shell said. “There is a clear opportunity to take our fight against crime one step further, and I believe the Greensboro Community Watch is that answer.”

Shell’s vision is for individual neighborhood watch groups to sign up and share information about activity in their neighborhoods through the watch’s Web site.

From there, participants will receive e-mails to make them aware of crime trends seen citywide.

“Crime trends go in waves and if we can get ahead of those waves, a real difference can be made,” Shell said.

The watch will also have district captains, similar to the individual community watch block captains, who will assist in collecting and distributing the data.

Greensboro police said they applaud the effort and said it could be useful in developing probable cause in arresting suspects if the same types of suspicious activity are seen in various neighborhoods across the city.

Police gave this hypothetical example: If residents of the Cardinal notice a suspicious blue van driving in their area about the same time a lot of car break-ins end up being reported, and a week later, residents in the Ole Asheboro neighborhood across town see the same thing, it could allow police to develop a suspect description and be on high alert for suspicious blue vans.

“We can put the pieces together,” said Sgt. C.T. Blaylock, a community resource officer for the police department’s central district. “By communicating with each other and with us, we might have enough to make an arrest with probable cause.”

Shell said he has heard from about 70 neighborhood watch groups interested in joining the group since launching the watch’s Web site this week. Police estimate there are 120 community watch groups city-wide.

“This is a great form of community policing,” police Chief Tim Bellamy said.

“We can track down criminals all day, but the key to reducing crime is the preventative measures that can be put in place.”

Contact Ryan Seals at 373-7077 or ryan.seals@news-record.com