The next day I contacted the neighborhood watch coordinators in all three areas.

Lani Landon is in charge of the Shamrock Park area that encompasses over two hundred houses.

Lani Landon: "Probably the best neighborhood to do it in, because we have an association and a very good communication system."

But when we were out there, this communication system didn't seem to work.

Araksya Karapetyan: "There were people watering lawns, hanging out outside, walking. So there were people out and about, but no one was really paying attention."

Landon: "That surprises me. There's no reason they shouldn't have called."

It turns out one call was made to dispatch, about a suspicious vehicle, and someone filming...that would be me.
But that call was made two hours after we had left.

Landon: "I think people might feel a little worried about calling police when they're not certain what's going on. "

Landon: "The fact that you say you saw people outside, I have no clue as to why they weren't watching them. I think it's a good lesson for us."

Lynn Rockhold has headed the neighborhood watch in parts of the numbered streets for the past ten years.
Their watch includes close to fifteen hundred residents, that's about three hundred and twenty five homes.

Lynn Rockhold: "The whole thing takes team work , and the neighbors have learned what to look for, to look out for each other, to know what's suspect, to know what to report and how to report it."

And that's the key: know what to look for.

Rockhold: "People that are roaming the neighborhood, looking for people who may be roaming the neighborhood at odd hours like early in the morning, people that have backpacks on, or are just staking different areas."

But more importantly, know who your neighbors are.

Rockhold: "…. what their cars are, who normally frequents their houses. If you see somebody out of the ordinary that might be suspect."

Bottom line it's better to be safe than sorry.

Rockhold: "There is no neighborhood in this town that's immune from crime. There's more crime that's coming into this town, more than ever."

And because of this growing crime rate, neighborhood watch becomes more and more important everyday.

If you live in the city of Idaho Falls and are interested in getting a neighborhood watch program started, or want to find out if there already is one in your area, call Melissa Smith at 612-8655. She's the volunteer coordinator and can answer all your questions and get you started.