In the past year and a half, Karin Foster has received a steady flow of calls and emails looking for advice on forming a neighborhood watch.
To her, this signals that the roughly two dozen people reaching out want to do something about suspicious activity in their neighborhood. She couldn't be happier to help.
"There is some activity going on that they are not comfortable with," said Mrs. Foster, president of the West Scranton Hyde Park Neighborhood Watch. "They want to know how can they help make this stop."
On Monday, March 11, at 6 p.m. in the Scranton police headquarters roll call room, she will host an informational meeting to address those questions.
South Side Neighborhood Watch President Andrea Wharton said that in the year since she formed her watch, she has seen several positive changes. She is hoping for more groups to crop up in the city.
"If we had more people involved in neighborhood watches, we can change the areas for the better. We need more people to take a stand and be aware of what is going on around them," Mrs. Wharton said. "If people did that, then we could make all of Scranton a place that would not tolerate criminal activity of any kind."
South Side watch Commander Steve Wallis said he hopes to use the meeting to glean more information for working with an effective watch.
It's a topic Mrs. Foster has become very familiar with.
When she first moved back to West Scranton, it was a very different place from what she remembered. Assaults erupted on the streets, she said, and prostitution could be found on street corners.
"The neighbors in my block were getting upset about it," Mrs. Foster said. "I knew that there was a watch but didn't know the status. Everyone wanted a watch, but no one knew how to start it."
Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, @jkohutTT on Twitter