By David Vitrano

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – The Belle Terre neighborhood as well as nearby subdivisions may soon be safer thanks to the efforts of the Belle Terre Civic Association and its president, Raj Pannu.

“I know some of you are aware we did have a neighborhood watch, but it kind of went away,” said Pannu. “Today we will do a restart.”

In preparation for that restart, Pannu invited representatives from the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office to speak to those association members present for Wednesday’s meeting.

Sheriff Wayne Jones addressed the group first, outlining some of the obstacles they will face in restarting a watch program.

“Over here the community is so large we have to make an effort to learn who our neighbors are,” he said.

He also spoke about the recent rash of burglaries in the area that sparked Pannu’s desire to restart the neighborhood watch.

He noted the crimes had a variety of causes, but added, “How we stop that is we stay engaged and stay vigilant. How successful it is depends on the residents.”

He ended his short address with some advice.

“Don’t hesitate to call when you see something suspicious,” he said. “We’re here to work with you.”

At that point the sheriff handed the reins to Capt. Mike Hoover, a 21-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office who mostly does training and public education sessions.

“I’m going to challenge you today,” said Hoover.

Hoover first outlined the different aspects of crime prevention, which included reducing the opportunity for crimes to happen, being vigilant and observant and knowing one’s neighbors. That last point was one that was stressed throughout the evening.

“It’s doing the little things,” said Hoover. “Criminals are looking for the easy score.”

Through a short training video, Hoover honed the observation skills of those present, stopping after a review of the first scenario to say, “What’s my point here? We weren’t paying attention.”

After the video, Hoover explained the three necessary elements for a crime to occur — the criminal, the victim and the opportunity.

“Remove the opportunity, and crime is less likely to happen,” he said. “All you have to do is be observant, and you can see what the criminals are looking for.”

He then outlined the various jobs that need to be performed to have a successful neighborhood watch.

“I’m not going to sugar coat it,” he said. “It does take a lot of effort.”

Hoover even gave the group a homework assignment — “get to know your neighbors.”

Hoover’s estimation of the work ahead for the civic association did not dampen the spirits of the group’s members, who seemed eager to begin the door-to-door effort necessary to mobilize the neighborhood.

The civic association decided it would hold one more training session before staging an event aimed at getting to know the residents and recruiting people to be active members of the watch group. Pannu said she would like to hold that event sometime in April or May.

Following the meeting, Pannu said she was happy representatives from throughout the neighborhood attended the meeting.

“I’m excited we’re going to get this started again,” she said.