43
Lowellville plans neighborhood watch program
By EMMALEE C. TORISK
LOWELLVILLE
Even in a village of only 1.44 square miles and slightly more than 1,000 residents, Lowellville’s police force can’t be everywhere at once.
That’s why the department, with Chief Ryan Bonacci at the helm, is starting a neighborhood watch program. Its first meeting will take place at 5 p.m. Aug. 31 at Lowellville City Hall, 140 E. Liberty St. All village residents and business owners, among others, are welcome.
On the agenda for that initial meeting is a discussion of crime trends and community concerns, along with tips for assisting the police department.
“What better way to get involved in the community, and to have the community get a little bit more involved with us?” Bonacci said. He explained that members of the neighborhood watch program, whose members likely will meet monthly, will act as extra sets of eyes for the police department.
If residents notice suspicious activity in a certain area, for example, they can report it to the department, whose officers might then increase their presence there.
“People might see something that we don’t,” Bonacci said.
Program members are encouraged to report any suspected criminal activity to authorities — and not to attempt to handle it on their own.
Capt. Stacy Karis, who also is the school-resource officer for Lowellville Local Schools, added that sometimes, in a small town, it’s all too easy to think that word about criminal activity or repeated traffic violations travels everywhere. In reality, though, it often doesn’t make it to the people who need to know, like the village’s police officers.
She noted that the neighborhood watch program will help everyone to “be on the same page and know what’s going on in the village.”
Bonacci explained that the program’s meetings are a great way for the department to share information, like a recent telephone scam, with the public.
“Everyone has to work together to keep everything in order,” Karis said.
Lowellville’s burgeoning neighborhood watch program is one of many across the country. Bonacci explained that in 1972, the National Sheriffs’ Association helped to spread the concept; he was involved with a similar neighborhood watch program while working as a police officer in Newport News, Va.
Even though Lowellville “doesn’t have a lot of crime as is,” Bonacci said, the neighborhood watch program likely will help to reduce it even further.
He called the program “the first step in a series” of initiatives designed to “open up ways for us and the community to be integrated together.”
Next year, Bonacci hopes to start up a citizens’ police academy, during which residents will have the opportunity to gain a more hands-on look at police work.
“We can really make the community feel safe ... and like a part of what we’re trying to do down here in our department,” Bonacci said.
For more information about the village’s neighborhood watch program, contact Bonacci at 330-536-6326.