There’s a new group in town that aims to keep an eye out for mischief and crime in Merritt neighbourhoods.
Merritt Neighbourhood CrimeWatch began as a Facebook group started by local Patti Taylor in December 2012 as a forum for Merrittonians to post about stolen items, break-ins and suspicious activity.
Now, the group has well over 350 members, some of whom started doing voluntary neighbourhood patrols to deter petty criminals about a month ago.
The group is closed, meaning prospective members have to request to be let in by Taylor or another group administrator. Taylor said there is a core group of 12 people who participate regularly in the group.
Patrol leader Jay, who didn’t want his last named to be used, said the patrols started after some residents were “targeted” by teenagers who threw Slurpees at their houses.
He said the Neighbourhood CrimeWatch patrols are not vigilantes but are simply recording and reporting suspicious activity.
“The most action we do is seeing where these perpetrators or the suspects are coming from and going to,” he said. “That’s it. We don’t actually make any physical arrests or anything like that.”
Jay said patrols call RCMP and sometimes follow suspects until police arrive. He said group members realize the RCMP cannot attend every minor incident or suspicious activity, such as someone in an alley looking into a backyard.
“Obviously, the police can’t answer every call of a dog barking or a person walking through a back alley that looks suspicious. They’ve got real crimes to go after,” he said.
If patrols observe something illegal while it’s happening, Jay said they call RCMP first.
“Basically [we’re] trying to be an extra set of eyes and ears for the police so that we can actually get some of these people off the street because, the thing is, the police know who they are, we know who they are, but nobody has any proof,” he said.
He said this might not be much for the police to look into but simply the presence of the informal patrols or the lights from one of their cars could deter potential criminal activity.
He said the most interaction they’ve had with a suspect is asking someone to stop what they’re doing and move along. Jay said he saw kids playing with the power supply unit outside the Civic Centre and rather than call the police, he politely asked them to stop what they were doing.
He said it’s something he’d do only during the day.
“Honestly, I’m not going to stop and warn a young person at night. Forget that, because you never know who’s in the shadow behind him. I’m not out there to put myself in danger, I’m just out there to help the community,” Jay said.
Jay said the group is not interested in criminals such as drug dealers, but prefers to focus its efforts on smaller issues such as theft or vandalism.
“There have been a couple of people that have thought maybe we’re out there to help dull the drug crowd. Honestly, I want nothing to do with the drug crowd. That’s something for the RCMP to get involved in, not us. [If] you start dealing with things like crack houses and stuff like that, you’re inviting violence,” Jay said. “Young kids, they’re just more freaked out that there’s somebody following them and there’s lights over their shoulders all the time.”
Jay said other than a few conversations and assurances with police on duty that they are not acting as vigilantes, the group hasn’t had much dialogue with Merritt RCMP.
All patrols, which take place throughout the city, are voluntary and there is no set schedule. Patrols will monitor the Facebook posts and remain on call, making patrols if they have free time or there are posts they want to investigate.
Jay said the patrols give him a sense of purpose while he’s on disability. He also said Merritt has a reputation as being a place for Vancouver’s homeless to migrate to, or as a place where events “flunk out,” citing the loss of the Merritt Mountain Music Festival as an example.
“It’s getting worse and worse and worse, and now you’re throwing crime on top of it,” he said. “Honestly, our house rates are going through the floor. My house is worth 17 per cent less than what I bought it for six years ago.”
He said even if the patrols don’t help raise property values, they at least provide residents some peace of mind.
Jay said most of the suspicious activity they seee seems to happen between 1:30 a.m. and 4:00 a.m.
They patrol any day of the week and anywhere from 8 p.m. to as late (or early) as 5 a.m.
Taylor said some people have posted on the Facebook page thanking the group as patrols make them feel safer in their own neighbourhoods.
Jay said a lot of the posts the patrols respond to turn out to be nothing, sometimes just some kids going for an innocent bike ride or going to get a Slurpee, but the group’s presence around the neighbourhood will make anyone think twice if they are up to no good.
“All of a sudden, there’s eyes out there,” Jay said. “It’s no different than putting up a [sign that says] ‘This house monitored by security cameras.’ It’s just, we’re a living security camera, and mobile.”
Merritt RCMP Const. Tracy Dunsmore said the group seems to do crime prevention similar to an organized Block Watch or Citizens on Patrol group, with the added use of social media to communicate.
“If they’re watching each other’s properties, reporting if things are being stolen or things are being broken into, I absolutely encourage that, and also reporting to the police so that we know what’s going on,” Dunsmore said.
She said the RCMP support the group’s activities as long as it stays within the confines of the law and does not go vigilante.
“We don’t want people taking the law into their own hands and beating somebody up because they’ve done something, because then people will start being charged and it will be the wrong people,” Dunsmore said.
Block Watches are teams of people in specific neighbourhoods set up with a captain. Members watch each other’s houses and report any suspicious activity to the RCMP. The local community policing office administers Block Watches and Citizens on Patrol.
She said the police recommend observing, recording and reporting suspicious activity as well as taking pictures if necessary.
Jay said recording and reporting is exactly what this group is doing, using handheld radios to communicate. However, he said the patrols haven’t joined the city-based, RCMP-affiliated Citizens on Patrol because that group requires members to be incognito, while the Neighbourhood CrimeWatch patrols are visible.
“They have to stay under the radar. They can’t light up alleys. They’re supposed to be incognito. You’re not even supposed to know they’re there,” Jay said. “We’re the middle guy. We’re not quite the Citizens on Patrol because we can do other things, we’re not having to be incognito, we’re not having to be the man in the shadows, we’re able to be out there and show that we’re out there,” Jay said.
Taylor said she hasn’t noticed the Citizens on Patrol or heard if the program is recruiting volunteers.
“Where are these Citizens on Patrol when things are going crazy in town?” Taylor said.
Citizens on Patrol co-ordinator Lonni Bosko said she wishes people wouldn’t speculate as to what the group does but rather ask her about it.
She said Citizens on Patrol members are not required to be incognito and sometimes stop and talk to people. The group has spotlights its members can use as well as a dash plaque of their crest to show they are patrols. Bosko also said they also don’t talk to people about stolen items as that is more of a function of the police.
Bosko added that Citizens on Patrol is always looking for members and the only requirement for prospective members is passing a criminal record check. She said if any members of the Merritt Neighbourhood CrimeWatch would like to join Citizens on Patrol, they can call her.
“I mean, the Neighbourhood CrimeWatch does a fantastic job, do not get me wrong, and they are welcome to join Citizens on Patrol,” Bosko said.
Citizens on Patrol go out on four-hour night patrols and report suspicious activity to the police.
“We don’t put anybody in jeopardy. We are a mobile organization, we don’t do foot patrols, we don’t get out and check doors. We could, but because we are a mobile patrol, we are in our vehicles,” Bosko said, adding patrols always go out in pairs.
She said all crooks know the Citizens on Patrol cars.
Dunsmore said she hasn’t spoken with members of the CrimeWatch group but does see some of their Facebook posts.
“I always tell people to watch their own neighbourhoods and I also encourage them, if they’re coming home from work late at night or if they’re coming home from Kamloops and it’s two in the morning, take a drive around your neighbourhood and watch for something suspicious and report it to the police,” Dunsmore said.
She said at this point, the RCMP haven’t seen the group breaking any laws.
As for the group’s future, Jay said he’d like to see it become unnecessary and see every homeowner take initiative to monitor and deter crimes in their neighbourhoods as well as take responsibility for their children.
Jay said members of the Neighbourhood CrimeWatch have yet to reach out to the RCMP regarding what the group can and can’t do, as it’s still in its development stage.
