Macon police to start neighborhood watch program

There are a few steps you can take to if you see unusual activity in your neighborhood.

MACON, Miss. (WCBI)- Keep the community safe.

The Macon Police Department is getting an extra set of eyes to help stop crime.

A Neighborhood Watch Program will start next week.

Call, identify and describe.

Those are a few steps you can take to if you see unusual activity in your neighborhood.

Officers said most people don’t realize they’re witnessing the lead-up to a crime until after it’s happened.

“Suspicious vehicles are going in and out, suspicious people, things that are out of the ordinary going on,” said Macon Police Chief Davine Beck.

If you see something, say something.

Beck encourages the community to do before crime happens.

Over the last couple of months, homicides and burglaries have been up.

” We’ve been hit the big time with two murders, domestic-related. With the death of the two women in our community, people are starting to make calls and report them on domestic violence calls. Calls are way up, and we’re starting to make arrests on it,” said Beck.

In 2000, the department started the Neighborhood watch program, but residents quickly lost interest.

Beck is hopeful more citizens will take action this time around.

” I think social media plays a great role in putting this thing out there. The community plays a big role in my job,” said Beck.

Apps like Facebook and Neighbors Ring are a few tools to help connect the neighborhood.

” Hopefully, we can have monthly meetings to keep involvement,” said Assistant Eddie Hill.

Hill said folks have the option to report sightings anonymously.

“Nine out of ten times, they see things we don’t see. We are in the community, but we don’t stay in that particular area,” said Beck.

“There are enough people in the community that know each other that they should feel comfortable enough reaching out to the police before these crimes occur,” said Hill.

The first meeting is in the City of Macon municipal courtroom on September 15th.

It starts at 6 p.m.