Catoosa Neighborhood Proposes Simple Tactic To Help Battle Crime

When a group of Catoosa homeowners got fed up with crime in their neighborhood, they formed their own patrol group. A month later, they say it's working, and they already feel safer.

This week, the Rolling Hills Neighborhood Watch group is rolling out another campaign called Night Lights On. It’s designed to keep their neighborhood safer with one simple switch.

Wednesday, Linda Deal was spreading the word the old-fashioned way, with fliers encouraging her neighbors to keep their lights on at night, all night.

The idea is that the brighter their neighborhood looks, the less likely vandals and burglars will visit.

"We've noticed that a lot of the houses are dark, it makes a lot of dark places. And, of course, that's where the bad people like to say," she said.

The campaign is resonating with many neighbors who are tired of the crime, like Amanda Spence.

"That's a great idea. That's probably one of the bigger things that will help because if they can see you, what can you steal," Spence said.

The Rolling Hills Neighborhood Watch group formed about a month ago.

6/20/2016 Related Story: As Crime Rises, Angry Catoosa Residents Create Neighborhood Watch

Deal said, when they felt crime got out of control, she and a group of homeowners got together, saying enough is enough.

"I'll bet every street in this neighborhood has had somebody that's been robbed or vandalized," Deal said.

The group patrols the neighborhood in shifts, contacting police at the first sign of trouble, and neighbors said they notice a difference already.

"I've seen the neighborhood watch cars patrolling quite a bit,” Spence said. “And, as far as I know, I haven't heard of anything else really disappearing, any more thefts; it's taken it down a lot, I believe."

And it's not just about keeping the lights on, the neighborhood watch group said it has noticed many homeowners are also leaving their garage doors open and car windows down.