The Maries County Sheriff’s Department hosted an informational community neighborhood watch meeting Nov. 6 at the Belle Bland Community Center where citizens discussed their concerns about the crime in Belle and how they can help eliminate it.

The meeting lasted an hour-and-twenty-minutes. It included a Powerpoint presentation by Lt. Scott John, questions from citizens, and answers from various officers.

John opened the floor to discussion after introducing the topic of a neighborhood watch and telling citizens what it is: a neighborhood surveillance program or group in which residents keep watch over one another’s houses, patrol the streets, etc., in an attempt to prevent crime.

“Keep in mind, I want this to be a productive conversation, and so does the sheriff, mayor, marshal,” he said. “We don’t want this to be negative, bashing, ‘who’s-at-fault’ kind of problem. Let’s talk about solutions.”

Citizens identified their top four concerns in the community as theft, drugs, vandalism, and trespassing.

“I would love to have my guys over here more, it’s just we cover 530 square miles and Belle is 1.5 square miles,” Heitman said. “We get over here as much as we can, but if you guys see something, don’t wait ‘til you see the officer the next day; call at 2 a.m. while you are wondering what they are doing.”

Linda Vore said she walks her dog at 2 a.m. and regularly sees Belle police patrolling. Alderman Ken Stanfield said he lives on one side of town and may see something going on, but by the time he calls dispatch and they send an officer, the incident is over. Heitman advised citizens to take their own precautions.

“Get good clothing description,” Heitman said. “What type of shoes were they wearing? What color pants? Hat?”

John said that identifying a person’s shoes is the most important part of a clothing description. “People may change jackets, shirts and slacks, but not usually their shoes.”

Another citizen asked about minors or teenagers being out at night.

“Belle still has a curfew don’t we?” Heitman asked.

Turnbough said yes, it is 11 p.m.

“We used to enforce it; and we would drive those kids’ butts home and knock on the door and write the tickets to the parents if it kept going on. Then the parents could come to court and justify why their kids were out past curfew. Or why they are not keeping an eye on them.”

Vore said a lot of young people walking up and down the street are members of the Arts Center.

“If everybody would get more involved in the Arts Center and know who is going in and out, they would know who the kids are,” said Vore. “Some of them are working at Casey’s and some at the grocery store.”

“At 2 in the morning, Linda?” Another citizen asked doubtfully.

Vore said if they get off work at midnight or one, by the time they get things cleaned up, they could be headed home at 2 a.m. “They sit out there on a bench, not hurting anything.”

Area resident Matt Lee said there is a difference in someone headed home from work at 2 a.m. or acting suspicious.

John advised citizens not to call every time they see someone, they will become like the boy who cried wolf.

“Be a good witness: was it a white male, black male, white female, black female, how tall were they, did they have any noticeable tattoos, what color clothing did they have on? Then tomorrow when you find out your neighbor had a chain-saw stolen, we have a suspect and can start searching,” John said.

He also advised homeowners to keep serial numbers on their items.

“I’d like to see the neighborhood watch coordinators be active with your local law enforcement and check in once in a while before the meetings. Communicate.” Heitman said. “Check with Joe and check with us about what crimes have been committed.”

John said in a small community like this, people know officers.

“Having an officer’s cell phone number or being friends on Facebook is not how you report crimes,” said John. “Sheriff Heitman will send me, routinely, screen shots of Facebook messages or text messages of someone reporting something and I have to assign a deputy to it. It would have been quicker for you to call dispatch, and me, to send them out.”

Do not wait to report a crime to the officer while he’s off-duty at the grocery store.

“Help us. Document stuff. Report it timely and through the proper methods,” John said.

If citizens chose to have a neighborhood watch, they can do whatever they want with the program.

“Patrol neighborhoods, disseminate information to the community about crime prevention, train to complete security safety procedures, complete neighborhood clean-up, assess securities,” John added.

Stanfield said he would do it. “I already walk.”

Alderman Jeanette Struemph said she and a few ladies drive the town at night to see what is going on and would be willing to do so on a schedule. Tasha Lee said she volunteers at Barb’s Books on South Alvarado and would be willing to help patrol and keep the businesses safe.

Graddy McDaniel noted one reason why people may not want to be involved.

“People are breaking into cars,” he said. “That’s criminal. People don’t want to be involved because of that.”

John suggested that patrols walk in groups and have shirts made up. Or if someone is driving, to use a magnet on their vehicles to identify themselves.

Others asked about 24-hour coverage in Belle. Turnbough said to his knowledge, the community has never had 24-hour coverage. He had wanted it when he first took office, but the city didn’t have the money to maintain it.

Former mayor Steve Vogt said the city did try 24-hour coverage under Turnbough’s direction during the marshal’s first term.

“While I was mayor, we had 24-hour coverage for a short time, then dropped it after a couple of months because the expenses went up,” Vogt said.

A citizen asked if the crime went down during that time.

“It did not,” Vogt said.

John said neither the Maries County Sheriff’s Department nor the Highway Patrol are on duty “twenty-four/seven.”

“Invest in a camera system with good picture,” he said. “Don’t hook the recording to your DVR — set it to go to your phone or be stored in The Cloud — criminals are smart enough to take it (DVR).”

The neighborhood watch informational meeting was arranged by Mayor Josh Seaver, who was also present. Seaver arranged for the meeting after the Oct. 8 city meeting when nearly 30 citizens voiced their concerns during the city meeting about the rise in crime and lack of police patrol in town. BrendaLeigh Guffey suggested a neighborhood watch and asked the board of aldermen to back them.

Alderman Tony Gieck was the first to ask what the citizens needed from the board to move forward, and was also present at the meeting.

While Turnbough didn’t lead the meeting, he was there to listen and help answer questions.

“I thought it went very well and was extremely excited about the turnout,” Turnbough said. “And (I) am very excited about the interest and those who were willing to commit.”