The village of Lakewood has not reported any additional vandalism issues since the formation of the Lakewood Neighborhood Watch program.

The newly formed neighborhood watch program in Lakewood has been hoping to curb the recent vandalism issues by establishing a connection between the community and the police department.

“We’re very grateful for that,” Mayor Randall Holcomb said. “That’s a wonderful assistance in the village with this particular case. I think it’s had a great impact because we haven’t had an incident since then.”

The idea for the Lakewood Neighborhood Watch program was proposed after the community held a meeting to discuss the rise in vandalism in the area.

While the program is not officially sponsored by the village of Lakewood, Holcomb said the Lakewood-Busti Police Department has been very interested in the Lakewood Neighborhood Watch program.

“They had an officer at the original meeting of the neighborhood watch,” he said. “One of our trustees was also in attendance at their first meeting.”

The coordinator for the program is working closely with the police chief of the Lakewood-Busti Police Department to develop ways to identify the suspects of the vandalism and prevent future homes and businesses from being vandalized.

“The police department is thankful this has been formed, and they are working in conjunction with each other very well,” Holcomb said. “They certainly are the eyes and the ears of the village when the police can’t be at all places in the village at the same time. I think it has had a real good effect on the group of individuals who were doing this, that they’re now being watched.”

As someone who received thousands of dollars worth of damages as the result of the vandalism issues in Lakewood, the coordinator of the program believes the neighborhood needs to work together to prevent future issues and that the perpetrators should be held responsible for their actions.

Before the program started, the village of Lakewood reported multiple properties that were damaged as the result of vandalism. The coordinator for the Lakewood Neighborhood Watch program said the cost of the damages has already totaled more than $30,000.

The coordinator for the program has set up a Facebook group for neighborhood residents. He explained that if an act of vandalism is witnessed, residents are encouraged to press the panic button on their car, call 911 and send out a group text through the Lakewood Neighborhood watch program to warn other residents that a crime is being committed and to bring attention to the suspects.

Through community participation, the program hopes to quickly draw attention to crimes that are committed in the neighborhood and put more pressure on any individuals who commit crimes in the area.

The program’s coordinator said the problem had been that the individuals committing the acts of vandalism managed to avoid the police by the time a person called 911 and officers were dispatched to the scene of the crime.

By connecting the community through the Facebook page and the group text program, the Lakewood Neighborhood Watch believes it will be easier to identify the suspects and identify where they are going so that the police can respond in a timely manner and hold the suspects accountable for their actions.

Although the Lakewood Neighborhood Watch program only has about 21 members so far, the group hopes to quickly expand and work together to solve the vandalism problem.

The program is also discussing additional measures with the local police department, such as foot patrols and cash rewards for information that could lead to the arrest of those involved in acts of vandalism.

Jarrett Reed, an investigator with the Lakewood-Busti Police Department, previously encouraged local community members to report any suspicious activity that could be connected with the string of vandalism efforts.

“It is serious, and we would ask if you see anything suspicious to contact our office to try to end this,” he said, “If you see something, say something.”

In addition to the community establishing a neighborhood watch program, Holcomb said the chief of police has been working with home owners and businesses to understand what happened during the vandalism spree in the village.

The village of Lakewood has increased patrols in certain neighborhoods as a preventative measure for future vandalism incidents.

“We will certainly continue to do that, and hopefully we’ll continue with this good response of the vandalism being curbed and hopefully stopped at this point,” Holcomb said.

Between the increased patrols and the pressure of the neighborhood watch program, Holcomb believes the village will continue to be successful in preventing future incidents.

“It’s working the way it is,” Holcomb said. “The neighborhood watch is a great advantage for everybody in the whole village, not just in that particular area where the vandalism was happening. I think we will continue to have the same good response that’s coming out of it, which is no vandalism.”