YOUNGSTOWN Block watchers share ideas on safety

The eight block watches encompass 1,200 to 1,500 residents.
By ROB MEYER
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Bill Watterson is on a mission to make the city a safer place to live.
He believes strength in numbers is the way to achieve that goal.
Watterson, of West Judson Avenue on the South Side, is one of the creators of the Association of South Side Block Watchers. The association combines block watches into a single, large unit.
Block watches are groups of neighbors who, with police, try to make their own and surrounding neighborhoods safe, crime-free places to live.
"We work with each other to see what works and what doesn't," Watterson said. "We discuss how things are going in our neighborhoods. We keep track of each other."
The Association of South Side Block Watchers is made up of eight block watches that encompass 1,200 to 1,500 people, Watterson said.
"We just get together and kind of brainstorm," he said. "We want to keep track of what each other is doing. Why reinvent the wheel?"
Informal gathering
The association has had two meetings. Watterson said that despite having the title of "association" the group is strictly informal.
"We don't want to have a charter or bylaws or anything like that," he said. "It's a loose association. We don't want to be too political."
But limited political activism is one of Watterson's goals. A larger group of people showing their discontent to local government is more effective than one or two people, he said.
"It's better to speak in numbers than not," Watterson said.
Lt. Rod Foley, police vice squad coordinator, said that neighborhood block watches can be viewed as an extension of law enforcement.
"They are the eyes and ears of the neighborhoods," Foley said. "They keep the police informed and they assist in investigations. When people form groups like this, it gives them more power to get things done. It lets people know that [block watches] are for real."