Neighborhood watch idea revived in Apex

JOHN THOMPSON

Drunken rowdiness, broken windows and a burned-out house are just a few of the reasons behind the latest attempt by Apex residents to resurrect the idea of a neighbourhood watch group.

Delegates from the RCMP, city of Iqaluit and Government of Nunavut met with several residents and many more small children inside the Abe Okpik Hall last Thursday.

This will be the third time residents have talked about forming a neighbourhood watch, said Ed Picco, Minister of Health and Social Services. Past efforts began with a few enthusiastic volunteers but always fell apart.

“It really hasn’t gotten off the ground like we first anticipated,” Picco said.

A neighbourhood watch program would train residents to spot suspicious activity and report it to police.

It would also help create a network of volunteers that RCMP could call on in the event of an emergency like a missing child, said Bernice Neufield, who was involved in a block watch program in Edmonton for eight years.

If a child went missing, RCMP could call a block captain, who would call three more residents. Those residents would make three calls themselves, until everyone on the watch was alerted. “Before very long, you’d have the entire community of Apex out looking for that child,” she said.

Participants won’t be expected to solve society’s problems or take matters into their own hands by confronting troublemakers. Instead, many sets of watchful eyes and ears will help prevent and deter crime in the area, she said. The group would also receive monthly crime stats from police.

Corporal Mike Salomonie pointed to a broken window inside the hall, open to the evening sky. He said when small crimes like vandalism go unnoticed, this suggests that no one in the community cares, creating an environment where more serious crimes spread.

“If we get the message out that we don’t care, this is going to continue.”

To discourage theft, Neufeld said the group could buy and share engravers to help mark property.

When children at the meeting were asked who had had their bike stolen, most raised their arms. The RCMP currently has a garage full of unclaimed bikes, said Salomonie.

Several residents spoke about how crime affected them, like John Graham, whose children had their tent stolen. “It’s not so much the expense. It’s the aggravation that goes along with it,” he said.

Mayor Elisapee Sheutiapik sympathized, remembering how she felt the first time thieves broken into her own business. “I felt so violated the first time. I was devastated,” she said.

The group plans to meet again in a month.