AUBURN - Burglars beware, a new neighborhood watch program may have more Auburn residents keeping an eye out for criminals.

With crime becoming a bigger problem in Auburn, Stan Bryant, chairman of the Van Anden Street neighborhood watch, said he wanted to expand his program to include the entire city.

“I want people to be aware that what happens on one street is important to every other street, that we are all connected,” Bryant said.

“Safety is a responsibility for everyone.”

To participate in the program, Bryant said residents need only to pick up a free crime watch poster from a participating business and place it in their window to warn burglars that crime will not be tolerated.

If residents see a crime being committed, they should call 911.

Auburn Police Chief Gary Giannotta said he wanted to help Bryant expand the program because it would benefit the entire city.

After dealing with several burglary and drug related crimes on Cayuga, Mann, Orchard, Seminary and Van Anden streets, residents created watch programs what were successful in reducing crime in those areas.

“In the past 10 years crime has grown while our staff remains the same,” Giannotta said. “Something has got to give. While we do our best to get out there, our neighborhood patrols have decreased, so we need people to act as our eyes and ears. We don't want them to get involved with an incident, just call 911. If we had a watch in every neighborhood it would help to reduce crime.”

Most criminal watch programs are created when residents become frustrated with crime associated with transient housing and absentee landlords in their neighborhood, Giannotta said.

“It's usually someone that's tired of seeing their neighborhood deteriorate, or they don't like the way things are changing so they decide to do something about it,” Giannotta said. “They want to improve the quality of life, and they are usually successful.”

With the new program, Bryant said residents could get all the benefits of a community watch program without having to attend monthly meetings or paying annual fees. The program also provides other services such as ensuring that neighborhoods remain clean and coordinating public safety events with police and fire officials.

“Meetings are becoming less productive today as people are getting too busy to attend meetings,” Bryant said. “With this, people can still say safety is a responsibility for everyone but they won't have to join a club or go to meetings. All they have to do is put a poster in their window and pay attention.”

Staff writer Nate Robson can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or nathan.robson@lee.net