Woodland police officers attended a community meeting at Dingle Elementary School as part of an effort to begin a Neighborhood Watch program. (Elizabeth Kalfsbeek/Democrat)
About 30 people congregated for a neighborhood watch meeting at Dingle Elementary School's cafeteria Thursday evening.The meeting, hosted by Friends of Dingle Neighborhood Watch Program, was prompted by the recent gang-related stabbing outside the school.
"I think the thing this neighborhood needs to get credit for is being proactive," said Rachel Zur, program coordinator and mother of two children attending Dingle. "We're reacting to the stabbing by deepening our sense of community and seeing how we can be stronger, instead of feeling sorry for ourselves."
Residents of all Woodland neighborhoods were invited, those with or without a neighborhood watch program.
"It's extremely encouraging the amount of people who are here," said City Councilman Jim Hilliard. "The council is concerned about the gangs and we want to make sure we take every opportunity we can to curb that activity. We're making sure we're diligent with what we can do."
Woodland police representatives were also at the meeting as well as Dingle Elementary Principal Lonny Villalobos.
"In our own reflection, what kept the school safe was our response," said Villalobos regarding the stabbing incident. "We had a plan, a well-practiced plan, and we executed it awesomely. I encourage that for your own families."
Villalobos, whose father was a correctional officer for 32 years, was in law enforcement prior to his career in education. He told participants that physical security such as gates and
alarm systems are important, but having a response plan is critical.Dingle Elementary was on a brief lockdown after the stabbing, but police said no students were involved or in danger.
Woodland Police Sgt. Heath Parsons, supervisor of the Yolo County Gang Task Force, confirmed the victim of the stabbing was targeted because he was a gang member.
"We rely on good community support to solve and complete good investigations," said Parsons, who added that gang activity has increased, though violent crime is up only marginally from last year. "(Don't) let this affect your enjoyment to go outside. Woodland is still a nice community."
To that end, he informed participants that gangs thrive on fear and intimidation. By continuing on with daily activities like using the parks and going for walks, gangs will see that the community is not intimidated.
Officer Lear Luttrell encouraged program participants to call police.
"If there's something that you just don't feel is right, don't hesitate to call (police)," Luttrell said. "Make me earn my paycheck. That's my job. You don't bug us. You don't interfere. Even if it's nothing, you'll sleep better at night knowing that everything is okay."
Alerting police to anything suspicious, Luttrell said, creates a police presence, which ultimately will drive suspects away.
"We can't control the budget (or number of police on duty), but what we can control is getting together and forming a neighborhood watch," Zur said. "We can be that extra set of eyes for (police)."
Neighborhood watches can be as much about safety as community, Zur said. For example, her neighborhood watch organizes clothing swaps, Christmas caroling and making dinner for families with a new baby.
Sundays from April through October, Zur and neighbors hold an informal Family Park Night at City Park, 626 Cleveland St., beginning at 4 p.m.
Friends of Dingle Neighborhood Watch Program is a collective of many smaller neighborhood watch programs in the neighborhoods that surround Dingle Elementary School, 625 Elm St., and City Park.
The program works with neighbors, living near the school and park, to strengthen existing Neighborhood Watch Programs and to help neighborhoods that do not currently have a program to get one started.
To form a neighborhood watch program, or for more information about Friends of Dingle Neighborhood Watch Program, email dingleneighborhoodwatch@gmail.com
Parsons and Luttrell told participants to use common sense when it comes to safety, like walking with friends, making sure someone knows where you are, reinforcing locks, install a motion detector or security alarm and put an ADT sticker on windows.
The best security system is a dog, Parsons said.
Follow Elizabeth Kalfsbeek at twitter.com/woodlandbeat
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