Taking a night out against crime

Neighborhood Watch Coordinator Josh Hagemeyer speaks to a group of Country Club Estates neighbors about common sense security measures around the house.
Neighborhood Watch Coordinator Josh Hagemeyer speaks to a group of Country Club Estates neighbors about common sense security measures around the house.

A group of neighbors on Jefferson City's west side decided a year ago they would form a watch group, and Jefferson City police hope the idea catches on in other neighborhoods.

Thursday night, members of the Jefferson City Police Department (JCPD) were out at seven neighborhood gatherings to talk about crime prevention as part of the 34th annual National Night Out.

Every year, residents and police gather to celebrate neighborhood unity and strengthen watch groups.

"If we can watch out for one another, we're doing a big service to the officers as well as ourselves," Taylors Ridge Court Block Captain Bill Marshall said. "We can be the first responders. If an issue happens, we can let the officers know about it. That's why we formed the group."

"There's around a dozen active groups right now in the city, but we're looking at three to five more getting started," Josh Hagemeyer, JCPD neighborhood watch/community watch officer, said.

National Night Out events usually see neighbors meet with two officers, who talk with residents about crime trends and give statistics for the neighborhoods and ideas for how to prevent crime.

Hagemeyer said much of their focus when they talk to these groups is about property crimes such as thefts and burglaries. He said for several months, including this past weekend, one of the big problems they have been dealing with is people leaving cars or homes unlocked and coming back to find items stolen.

"It's a very easily preventable crime," he said. "That probably makes up half of the property crime we get called on. If you lock your doors, criminals will generally not break into a vehicle. They'll go up and down a street, in the middle of the night, and they'll check which vehicles are unlocked and if they are unlocked they'll get in and see if you've got anything valuable. "

Although they haven't had any serious crime issues in their neighborhood, Marshall said many took heed to what the officers told them last year about how to not be a victim of crime.

"Some of the folks installed better locks on their doors and others put in motion sensor lights," he said.

"Oftentimes, what we talk about doesn't cost much at all," Hagemeyer said. "You can trim your trees or bushes back in the front of your house so your neighbors can see and if the police drive by they can see the front of your house, too. Not trimming can provide easy spots for people to hide."

Hagemeyer said the watch groups are part of the police department's community policing efforts - getting out of patrol cars and connecting with people on a personal level to understand their needs.

"I think a lot of times we're just the nameless, faceless police department," he said. "This kind of humanizes us a little bit."

To find out if your neighborhood is hosting a National Night Out event or for more information about forming a watch group, contact Hagemeyer at [email protected] or 573-634-6398.