Helping the Police--and Themselves : Working With Officers, Volunteer Patrols in Garden Grove Have Had a Positive Effect

Programs like Neighborhood Watch depend on residents who realize that the thin blue line of police is often stretched very thin, and it is up to neighbors to help protect each other by being alert to suspicious activity.

In Garden Grove, a group of residents has taken another step in keeping tabs on the area. Two or three times a week, from 10 p.m. until 1 a.m., about a dozen volunteers walk Garden Grove Boulevard, hunting for illegal activity.

The residents carry flashlights and portable phones, ready to report anything suspicious as they walk past adult bookstores, motels and bars.

The walkers are not vigilantes; they consulted with police in establishing the patrols and work with two police officers. Done right, with civilians trying to be an extra set of eyes and ears for law enforcement without violating anyone’s rights, it is a good idea.

Kathleen McGuirk, one of the volunteers, aptly summed up a benefit of the patrols that started last April: “We’ve taken a bunch of neighbors who happen to care about the area and turned ourselves into a community.”

The idea for the patrols started on McGuirk’s street, Larson Avenue. She said for years she avoided going out after dark, worried about drug dealers and street people who often roamed her dimly lit street.

But last April, Larson Avenue residents started the patrols, quickly joined by 200 volunteers. In the beginning, the walks along Garden Grove Boulevard from Magnolia Street to Beach Boulevard were nightly events. After crime in the neighborhood declined between 30% and 50% by police estimate, the patrols were reduced to twice or three times weekly. The drop in crimes like prostitution, lewd behavior and theft has led to a flagging interest in the patrols among some volunteers. But as one team captain rightly noted, “We’ve got to remain involved. The police can’t do it all.”