SMALL BUSINESS : Community Watch Network Formed to Improve Security

Hoping to clamp down on crime, businesses in Santa Ana have formed a Business Community Watch program, apparently the first of its kind in the state.

Patterned after Neighborhood Watch, in which a network of neighbors help protect each other from criminal activities, the Business Community Watch next week will post a dozen watch signs that will mark the perimeter of the South Garnsey Business Area.

The Garnsey area comprises about half a square mile in southeast Santa Ana in which 98 light-industrial and manufacturing businesses are located. Business Community Watch will report crimes, distribute maps of troublesome areas and develop a communication network for the 98 businesses.

Besides security for the businesses, Jose De la Cerra of Polyclad, a manufacturer in the Garnsey area, said: “It’s a great opportunity for us to network with each other.”

Kraft Foods, BASF and Air Cleaning Technology are among the other companies that helped to establish the Business Community Watch.