Crime & Safety

Glen Woods Neighborhood Crime Watch Reestablished

Live in Glen Woods, Dean Estates or Woodridge? Your neighborhood crime watch is coming back.

Residents in the Glen Woods, Dean Estates and Woodridge neighborhoods like the idea of a neighborhood crime watch to help police control crime and quality of life issues.

Knowing that you don't get things done by sitting around, Albert Melikian of Belvedere Drive spearheaded a new effort to restart the original Glen Woods Crime Watch that was originally formed in the 1990s.

Cranston Police officials said Melikian devoted a huge amount of time and effort and distributed and collected more than 150 crime watch applications in Glen Woods, Dean Estates and Woodridge.

Lt. Russel Henry is the Cranston police officer in charge of district two, which covers the Glen Woods section of the city. He said an organization meeting for the new crime watch will happen in the "very near future" after Labor Day, according to a release.

Crime watches and regular community meetings give police a chance to interact with residents directly. Not only do they hear about problems in the neighborhood, but also build relationships with people who might otherwise have no idea who patrols the streets unless they call 911 in an emergency.

And in the end, more crimes get solved — and prevented because of the more proactive approach. Police call it "community policing" and it's the model Cranston police has used in recent years as "a hallmark of police operations."

"As a result, numerous community meetings have been held city wide, where our police department representatives have met with residents to discuss their concerns and a variety of issues including crime trends in a given area," said Cranston Police Major Robert W. Ryan.

Under the community policing model, officers are assigned to specific districts so they can get to know the nuances of the neighborhood. It reinforces the notion that an officer does more than chase down criminals after a crime has been committed — he or she can get to know the citizenry and prevent crime by being in the right place at the right time more often much the same way a local knows which roads are good shortcuts.

"The ultimate goal of these meetings is to foster positive community relationships, open the lines of communication between the residents and the police and to strategize to proactively develop initiatives with our residents to reduce crime and improve their overall quality of life," Ryan said.

If you live in Glen Woods, Dean Estates or Woodridge and are interested in joining the Glen Woods Crime Watch Association, call Melikian at 946-6467 for more information.

In the meantime, police suggest visiting their Web site for recent news and links to their Facebook page and Twitter. You can also get a view of recent crimes at https://www.crimereports.com as well as submit an anonymous crime tip. 

Lt. Henry can be contacted via email at russell.henry@leo.gov



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