LAWTON Okla_ The leader of a
Lawton church said
a rise in crime in the area has prompted her to start a neighborhood watch
program.
Rector Shelley Forrester
of Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church near 13th and D Avenue has been here less than a year.
She said in the last few months, church members and residents have told her
there's been quite a bit of crime in the area, which prompted her to take
action.
Rector Forrester
would like to have the program up and running by the end of this month. She said
this was an idea that she has been thinking about since arriving in Lawton last year, and now
is a good time to get started.
She said from
the first time she stepped in the church, she noticed that some of her church
parishioners were nervous to be at the church at night. She soon found out they
had good reason to be.
"We had a
couple of neighbors in the neighborhood who called the police when they saw our
building was being maybe scoped or broken into," Forrester said.
She said it has
happened on several occasions but, so far nothing has been taken. Still, members
are hesitant to come to nighttime events.
"It makes
me nervous about scheduling things at night," Forrester said. "I'm worrying
that people aren't going to show up and things like that."
Forrester said
she saw several neighborhood watch signs posted around the church, but she
found out from Lawton
police that the group has not been active for quite some time. She said the
recent criminal activity has made it even more of a reason to make the program
active again.
"It's just
important that we try to encourage safety and try to discourage some of the bad
things that go on in this world," Forrester said.
If the
neighborhood watch program does take effect, it would cover the area from Gore Boulevard south
to the railroad tracks between F and G Avenues and from 11th Street west to 17th Street. They will have an
organizational meeting January 29th at 6:00 pm at Saint Andrew's, which will
also be attended by a representative of the Lawton Police Department.
