Sandy Thayer helps the Lakeside Kid Zone set up Friday at city hall. She also is part of the Lakeside Citizen Patrol.-World Photo by Lou Sennick

Coos County Sheriff’s Office staffing cuts also have reduced the number of neighborhood watch groups around the county, though some residents have maintained the effort. In the past, such organizations were based in Lakeside, Hauser, Charleston and Bunker Hill. The Sheriff’s Office assisted by posting a deputy to help organize meetings.

With the cutbacks, these community policing programs were dropped, and along with them went the groups in Charleston and Bunker Hill, said Sgt. Pat Downing.

But the efforts continue in Lakeside and Hauser, and a community group in Empire is attempting to restart an old program.

Sandy Thayer is chairwoman of the Lakeside Citizen Patrol, which has been in existence for about 15 years. Thayer has been involved for about half that time. The group has about 20 members, though only four or five are active year-round.

On Thursday nights, Thayer heads out in a patrol car and drives up and down the streets of Lakeside. If she witnesses suspicious activity, she radios Coos County dispatch. She said she will make at least one report to the county each night she goes out.

In Hauser, there are about 15 volunteers in the Hauser Citizens Patrol, according to Angela Cotten, a past president of the group. She said the organization was re-formed about four years ago.

In addition to patrolling the streets, volunteers will check on homes when their owners are out of town. If there is an unusual car parked in front of the house or a light is illuminated that isn’t suppose to be on, they make a report.

“I think we have made a difference,” said Cotten. “At least people know there is a presence in the area even if the Sheriff’s Office can’t get out here.”

Even talking to dispatch can be a deterrent, Thayer said.

The Lakeside patrol group has its “usual suspects,” and they are known to have scanners that pick up on the calls. Knowing that someone is out on patrol will keep them from causing problems, Thayer said.

“They know we are out there,” she said. “Staying out half the night, it’s not a problem. We’re night people.”

To pay for their programs, the groups hold fundraisers. Lakeside sells calendars, while both hold garage sales. Money collected at the events is used to buy gas, pay for insurance and make repairs on the patrol vehicles.

Downing said there is value to having the patrols.

“Having a neighborhood watch program is an effective way to deter people who would try to break into a house,” he said.

Given the apparent success in the county communities, residents of Empire are making a push to form their own group.

Tom Greaves, vice president of the Concerned Citizens of Empire, said he hopes to have meetings to set up a new group in a matter of weeks. He is not the first person in his family to encourage community involvement in law enforcement.

His grandfather, H.W. “Buck” Greaves, was a member of a community watch program in the 1980s, patrolling the streets much like the county groups do today.

Tom Greaves said it was this family connection, as well as the perception that Empire has a crime problem, that motivated him to push for the new group.

“Our goal is to help the police by watching our area and reporting as we see things and make Empire a better and safer place, like it was,” he said.