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Neighborhood Watch is up and running in ten neighborhoods of Forest Lakes. We have had three well-attended organizational meetings this summer. It
is encouraging to see so many people enthusiastically willing to work together to keep our area safe. For those of you who may not know what Neighborhood Watch is, it is an effective crime prevention program that enlists the active participation of citizens in cooperation with law enforcement to reduce crime and fear in the community. Once it is established it does not require frequent meetings just a yearly "touching base" with the residents involved in a particular area.
It works by neighbors getting to know each other and working together in a program of mutual assistance, each person being aware of, and how to recognize and report suspicious activities in their neighborhoods and through the implementation of crime prevention techniques such as home security measures.
The program's coordinator is
Mary Szablewski. The program is run with the support and cooperation of our local sheriff,
Pete Davis and F.L.O.A.
 Neighborhood Watch signs have been
placed at the entrances to Forest Lakes. They are black, white and blue with a large eye on them.
We need more residents to step forward as neighborhood coordinators. You do not need to be a full time resident to be a coordinator. We need the help of everyone. The role of a coordinator is to get people talking to each other, assist watching out for our neighbor's property, coordinate neighborhood functions and to be the contact person for Neighborhood Watch information.
The role of each resident is to be aware of what is going on in your neighborhood in terms of strangers and suspicious activity and to report it to local law enforcement.
Neighborhoods which are active in the program have black, red and white signs denoting
them as neighborhood watch areas. Following is a very general description of where the present active areas are located: Wildcat Trail lots 550-567; Old Rim Road in the vicinity of lots 185-275; Larson Loop; Merzville Loop; Sheep Springs in the area of Little Pine Trail and Circle; Mineral Drive and Loop; Elk Drive area; Hillcrest and Forest Trail on the south side; Mule Springs Trail on the south side and Trout Springs on the south side. If you do not live in the above mentioned areas and would like to host a Neighborhood Watch program in your area please contact Diane Mitchell.
Many of our residents have already formed informal neighborhood watch groups and have testified to the effectiveness of getting to know your neighbors and watching out for one another. Involving yourself in this program can only benefit you as an individual resident and thus make Forest Lakes a safe place to live. We need all to participate whether you are a full time or part time resident.
Many of our residents have already formed informal neighborhood watch groups and have testified to the effectiveness of getting to know your neighbors and watching out for one another. Involving yourself in this program can only benefit you as an individual resident and thus make Forest Lakes a safe place to live. We need all to participate whether you are a full time or part time resident.
The emergency numbers to call in order to report suspicious activity are:
If you have questions, would like to be a coordinator, want to know
if there is a coordinator in you immediate neighborhood, or want more
information contact Mary Szablewski.
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