Neighborhood watch meeting to be held tonight in Brownsville
BROWNSVILLE – The Brownsville Community Neighborhood Watch is continuing to organize, meeting tonight to identify residents willing to serve as volunteer block captains. This is the second meeting of the new organization. It will be held at 6 p.m. at the Brownsville No. 1 Fire Hall on Market Street on the North Side. Mayor Lewis Hosler is encouraging residents to participate, so the police are better able to do their job.
“The more eyes we have out there, the better. I learned that in the military. There’s strength in numbers,” Hosler said. “A police officer investigates, then we try to arrest people. By the time the police get there, the crime has already occurred. We can’t prosecute without eyewitnesses.”
Hosler said having a group of people in each neighborhood keeping an eye on what’s going on can make a tremendous difference in the town. Hosler said detailed information can make a world of difference in a police investigation, particularly if witnesses are able to provide information such as license numbers, as well as the make, model and color of a vehicle involved in suspicious activity.
“It’ll work if we all work together. It has to work like a team,” Hosler said.
It was emphasized at the initial neighborhood watch meeting that watch members are not vigilantes and should not confront suspects, but they are being asked to be willing to serve as witnesses, providing police with as much detailed information as possible.
“We’ve been making strides. With our curfew signs up, there are fewer children on the streets,” Hosler said.
Future neighborhood watch meetings will be held on the first Tuesday of the month to avoid conflicting with the borough council meeting. This month’s borough council meeting has been moved to Sept. 26.