Neighborhood Watch Programs can be a great tool to help keep you safe. One Lyon County neighborhood is forming their own, after a recent vandalism spree.
Officials say more than 40 cars have been damaged during attempted burglaries in Silver Springs. Now neighbors are uniting with law enforcement to bring an end to it.
At the first meeting Thursday night, neighbors talked about things like creating block captains and sharing contact information. Ultimately they say they want to keep their eyes and ears open to what's happening around their homes.
"Somebody had kicked the door and there was a very, very distinctive ear print in my daughter's window,” said Robin Wood, the Program Coordinator for Silver Springs Neighborhood Watch. "As a mother, the last thing you want to think about is somebody with their face or any part of themselves near your child."
Over a week ago, Robin Wood and her husband woke up to their security lights on in the middle of the night. While an attempted burglar was nowhere in sight, a face print on their 10 month old daughter's window was present. After a scary incident like this one, she realized something had to be done.
"That was the turning point. I'm not moving anymore, I'm not running anymore, I'm taking my neighborhood back,” said Wood.
Robin decided to create a neighborhood watch with about 30 other neighbors who have experienced the same situations. That list includes vandalism, stolen cars, attempted burglaries, and mailboxes being knocked down.
"Throughout a two night period, there were approximately 40 cars vandalized with windows broken," said Ed Kilgore, the Field Services Commander for Lyon County Sheriff's Office.
David Schuster was one of those victims. He felt horrible when his prized possession, a Cadillac, was smashed into.
"I didn't hear anything, my bedroom is right there, the car was right there,” said Schuster.
That's why Robin and the other neighbors hope to put an end to criminals violating their homes and property.
"We're taking back our power, we're taking away the power from those people that want to vandalize our homes. We get to not feel like a victim anymore,” said Wood.
Neighbors plan to work with local law enforcement, learn crime prevention techniques, and to clean up the neighborhoods.
“That's where the eyes and ears come in. We can't be everywhere at once, but if every neighborhood has a neighborhood watch, every house has five other houses watching that house,” said Rob Hall, the Investigations Bureau Commander with the Lyon County Sheriff's Office.
The neighborhood watch in Silver Springs plans to meet once a month with the hope of smaller groups getting together weekly.
If you're interested in creating a neighborhood watch program for your community, it's possible with the National Neighborhood Watch.
Here's a link to their website: http://www.nnwi.org/
