Riding down North Evans Court in West Scranton, Karin Foster slowed down a bit after a dark sedan passed. She leaned her head back to share what she had seen: The driver had money in his hand.
"Did you see that?" Ms. Foster, president of the West Scranton Hyde Park Neighborhood Watch asked. "There's a good chance that, when money is exchanged in a car like that, it could be a mobile drug deal."
Once a staple in city neighborhoods, crime watches dwindled due to lack of volunteers and time. Organizers credit a recent resurgence of these groups to the brief tenure of former Scranton Police Chief Dan Duffy, who was adamant about community policing with his "Be Part of the Solution" campaign and the citizen's police academy he founded in May 2011.
"I would say Duffy was the motivating force. He was a go-get-'em guy," said Bob Neveroski, former president of the Hill Section Crime Watch. In the 1999s, the Hill Section watch really did "clean up" the neighborhood, he said. By going from business to business to ask for donations and placing donation jars at local stores, the group was able to raise in excess of $30,000 - allowing it to buy two police dogs, train local officers in their use and fund the local Drug Abuse Resistance Education program.
Over time, however, people began to lose interest. Crime watch groups found it difficult to raise money and maintain motivation.
"We were real active," Mr. Neveroski said. "After that, you get 15-20 people at a meeting and they're up in arms, but nobody would do nothing. They want something done, but they want you to do it."
Chief Duffy's call for more community involvement in crime fighting renewed interest in volunteering, many organizers said.
The first crime watch in West Scranton - founded 20 years ago- has been reborn, said Beverly Gilarde, president of the West Scranton Neighborhood Association.
"The original watch did a good job," she said. "They were a really motivated bunch of people. Unfortunately, they had to disband not too long after they formed."
The original watch could not afford the insurance on its headquarters and was disbanded. A former Scranton school director pushed to revive it, Ms. Gilarde said.
"Chris Musti started it up again, and he wanted to take it above and beyond what it had done," she said.
Elsewhere in the city, other groups have followed a similar trajectory.
Judy Gatelli, president of the South Scranton Residents Association, remembers three to four years ago when beat officers patrolled neighborhoods the old-fashioned way - on foot. Mrs. Gatelli - who was Scranton City Council president from 2006 through 2009 - said one officer would be assigned to an area, and a central part of the job was to develop a relationship with the people.
"We would see the same face every day," Mrs. Gatelli said. "They would come to our meetings, and we would talk there or just out on the street."
South Scranton has not had such officers in several years, Mrs. Gatelli said.
"I don't have data except for what I see," Mrs. Gatelli said. "There is more blight, more vandalism. It's gotten worse."
Sitting at a plastic folding table at the Renaissance Center, 705 Pittston Ave., during a recent South Scranton Residents Association meeting, Mrs. Gatelli leaned over to acting Police Chief Carl Graziano and asked why these officers have disappeared.
Chief Graziano blamed a lack of federal funding. As block grant money from the Office of Economic and Community Development diminished over the years, so did the resources to pay beat patrol officers.
"It was so much better then," Mrs. Gatelli said. "They knew everybody down here. ... They had a presence. They knew the neighbors, and the neighbors knew them."
It is the quality of community participation and the cooperation of police that determines the overall effectiveness of a community crime watch, said Harry Dammer, Ph.D., chairman of the University of Scranton's criminal justice department. When the two groups work together, the overall image of the police improves, and citizens are more likely to report crimes.
Ms. Foster, of the West Scranton watch, said she has seen the community's attitude shift toward the police and reporting crime.
"The fact that people are not afraid for the most part to report things is a valuable tool for the Police Department," she said. "It might be a license plate number they jot down; it might be the description of a car. It's all very helpful, and they can do it anonymously."
Pedaling hard to crest steep West Scranton hills, the West Scranton/Hyde Park Neighborhood Watch weaves in and out of alleys on weekly bike patrols of the neighborhood.
Watch member Mike Toye likes to take detours down North Evans Court. On a recent ride, crushed beer cans and empty 40-ounce malt liquor bottles littered the alley. Loud cars revved in small garages. The watch was greeted with stony stares of passers-by.
"They don't like us on that alley," Mr. Toye said. "But we like to let them know that we're watching."
During the first ride, the group had a special guest - former Chief Duffy. While on bike patrol with the watch, he noticed suspicious activity in the parking lot of a convenience store at Division Street and South Main Avenue. He called for backup, and a drug-related arrest was made.
Mr. Duffy remembers the moment well and is proud of the effort the group puts forth.
"They're still going forward with the 'Be Part of the Solution' motto," he said. "The police can only do so much by themselves. It is a great asset to have the public on your side."
Contact the writer: jkohut@timesshamrock.com, @jkohutTT on Twitter