NAP- Neighborhood Alliance of Pawtucket

Fairlawn Crime Watch-Call either Ventura at 724-7658 or Chadwick at 475-6058.

In Fairlawn, crime watch catches on, appears to be succeeding

PAWTUCKET - Miscreants beware.

Just four months in, a community crime watch modeled after a successful one in another section of Pawtucket is being credited for a tangible decrease in criminal activity and a significant increase in community involvement.

The more eyes they can get to watch out for and report crime, say organizers, the more success they should have.

An estimated 70 residents turned out for a third community crime watch meeting last Tuesday, Sept. 29, at the Smithfield Avenue Congregational Church. That number was up significantly from attendance at two prior meetings, said organizers, the first in June bringing out fewer than 10 residents and a second attracting about 20.

"Word is getting out and people are getting tired of these things happening in their neighborhood," said Victor "Vic" Ventura, a longtime resident and one of the organizers of the Fairlawn Neighborhood Crime Watch, along with Sixth District Councilor James Chadwick.

Ventura, a former assistant director of the Parks and Recreation Department in Pawtucket, who himself had a rock thrown through his window earlier this year, said that in the four short months since the first crime watch meeting, crime in Fairlawn has been on the decline.

Pawtucket Police Sgt. Edmund St. Pierre, of the Community Police Unit, agreed last week, telling residents that their efforts to combat crime appear to be paying off.

According to Major Arthur Martins, spokesman for the Pawtucket Police Department, the targeted Fairlawn neighborhood has seen a 32 percent decrease in crime from Jan. 1 to Oct. 1, 2009, over that same period in 2008.

In 2008, said Martins, seven robberies were reported in Fairlawn from Jan. 1 to Oct. 1. Compare those numbers to "a big fat zero" robberies in 2009 so far, he said.

Police investigated 59 Fairlawn breaking and entering cases in 2008, said Martins, compared to 46 incidents in 2009, or a 22 percent decrease.

Fairlawn auto thefts are down from 24 in 2008 to 15 in 2009, for a 38 percent decrease, said Martins.

All told, he said, crime in all three categories is down from 90 incidents in 2008 to just 61 in 2009.

A crime is considered a robbery if a person, in the course of a theft, inflicts bodily injury, intends to inflict bodily injury, or threatens bodily injury. Breaking and entering is just that, breaking into and entering someone else's property.

Chadwick said he was "surprised but pleased" to learn of a decrease in crime.

"We were happy to see it," said Chadwick, who credited an increase in civic interest from residents of Fairlawn in part to announcements placed in The Valley Breeze. "I'm pleased and I think the people who have been involved so far have been pleased with the progress we've been making."

Also helping the cause have been flyers sent home with Nathanael Greene Elementary School students and an aggressive word-of-mouth campaign throughout a neighborhood that borders Providence and North Providence, said Chadwick.

Chadwick told The Breeze that Fairlawn's crime watch initiative is modeled after an "unbelievably successful" one in the Woodlawn area.

Stickers in car windows and community crime watch signs placed around the neighborhood two months ago are also increasing awareness about residents' responsibility to report crime, said Chadwick.

Organizers have installed about 10 community watch "captains," each responsible for "about four or five streets" in the neighborhood, according to Ventura. When someone notices suspicious activity they are encouraged to report it to the Pawtucket police. If they can't get through or the police do not respond quickly enough, the person reporting a potential crime is encouraged to call one of the neighborhood captains, who will then call the police themselves to push for action.

"The more calls, the better the response," said Ventura.

Just about all residents who turned out to last week's crime watch meeting signed up to be on the official community crime watch contact list, enlisting to fight crime here through vigilance and a pledge to report any suspicious activity.

"It has been nice to see people looking out for each other, watching for what's going on," said Chadwick.

"The more people who pay attention to what's going on, the better it's going to be," said Ventura, who indicated that the upcoming holiday season will be an important time to have a vibrant crime watch in effect.

Check back with The Breeze over the coming weeks for announcements about the next Fairlawn Crime Watch meeting. Those who are interested in being involved should call either Ventura, at 724-7658, or Chadwick, at 475-6058.