Fear motivates new West End crime watch
Chestnuthill township residents living in fear of crime formed a new neighborhood watch group.
By Howard Frank Pocono Record Writer
Chestnuthill Township residents living in fear of crime have formed a neighborhood watch group.
Registered as Crime Watch West End Monroe County PA, the group was created to battle growing drug use, vandalism and reckless driving, according to Teri VanBritsom Flowers, one of the organizers of the group.
“In 60 years of life, I haven’t seen so many people passing away at a very young age,” she said. “Two of my friend’s children passed away from drug addiction. When you see this and why, it is very sad.”
The West End group is part of the National Neighborhood Watch’s Citizen Corps. Its goal is to harness the power of residents using education, training and volunteer service to make communities safer and better prepared to respond to threats, according to Citizen Corps’ website.
Flowers said although state police at Fern Ridge respond to calls quickly, she knows it has limited manpower.
"Residents have a responsibility to work with law enforcement," Flowers said, "rather than isolating ourselves in our homes or cars.”
Another motivating factor for Flowers was a personal experience — vandalism at her Chestnuthill Township farm. The damage added up to more than $10,000, including broken windows, doors and smashed contents.
Most of the 10 residents who attended the meeting are also crime victims, she said, and the meeting unexpectedly turned into something akin to a support group. “There was incredible pain,” Flowers said.
And fear as well.
“We exchanged phone numbers so if anyone feels creepy, some (neighbors) might show up and sit with them or just sit in their cars. It’s like a cockroach. You shine a light and they scatter,” Flowers said.
A gun instructor will speak at the next meeting. Applications for gun permits will be available. Law enforcement speakers will appear at future meetings.
“We are not vigilantes, but we want to be vigilant,” she said. “The answer isn’t to saddle up and go blazin’ in. There are a lot of people who want to know the procedure for carrying a handgun and we will also learn what to look for as a watch member and identify resources in the area for, say, counseling.”
Self defense and security are among other topics to be covered in the future, as well as getting residents to know the people who live nearby.
“The best defense is to know your neighbors," she said.
The group will meet every second Monday of the month, with the next one scheduled from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 8, at the Chestnuthill Township Park Building on Route 715. Residents from outside of Chestnuthill Township are encouraged to attend.
“We have a choice,” Flowers said. “We can feel powerless and afraid, or we can build an alliance of people that are like-minded so they won’t feel as alone."
The West End Supporter Staff Added: The West End Crime Watch Facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1686650638248507/?fref=nf
I have lost someone very special to me during all this bullshit around Chestnut hill twp, I have called everyone and anyone to try to put a stop to the biggest people that have most impacted, cops ignore you, attorney general don’t listen. I have come to the conclusion they do not care anymore!!
We are sorry to hear that you lost someone special, we do suggest you report your comment of our Facebook page so more people can see it.
This is one of the reasons that I left the area. It was getting bad when I left 11 years ago. The drug trade was bad coming out of NY. was bad, but now it’s right there in the Neighborhood I really didn’t think I would ever move away from the Effort area but am so Glad i did.Now having to put up with all the crazyness up there.
You cannot escape the drug problem, it is all over the country. I live in a very safe low crime area in NJ but the drug problem is an epidemic. I also have a home in Saylorsburg, my house has been broken into, my daughter’s house has been broken into. The only thing we can do is be aware, know your neighbors by sight, recognize when something doesn’t quite look right. The police aren’t after the petty thief’s, the want the big guns, the dealers. They cannot answer every call, especially in PA! They need more man power, the area’s are so large, they cannot possibly patrol them all. This is why neighborhood crime watch is a good thing.