The idea of having a Neighborhood Watch, I must say, is a good one. It alerts our good neighbor to watch out for each other especially during this time of our economic turmoil where many are looking to survive, or simply provide their needs in the wrong way by resorting to a criminal act. It will also put people with the criminal mind or intent that people are looking over them and not just the CNMI’s finest. They know that our CNMI’s finest are marked and can be identified easily from a distance.
But when the Neighborhood Watch is effectively in place, they will be a bit more careful in committing their bad deeds. It will not only detour their malicious intent, but their actions as well. Not all actions will be detoured, but at least minimizing their actions that can be construed as prevention. You know what they say: “An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.”
However, while I encourage Neighborhood Watch because it is a good prevention for many, I would suggest that they must operate under a covert action. No, I do not mean that they have to be an undercover and get involved in the bad deed action because unless it is sanctioned by the authority, you are still responsible for your own action. What I am saying is that every neighbor is encouraged to join in on the action, but they must not be known publicly for the fear of reprisal, if not, their family life and safety. I believe that it is always better to make the criminal wonder who is watching them rather than knowing who is actually watching them. If they know, they can always pick a time to come back and do their bad deeds.
I also would like to suggest that members of the Neighborhood Watch are trained and taught what are the things that they do would be risky that can threaten their welfare and livelihood. Discourage taking actions that could cause a member’s life, but rather encourage actions that are not risky. Help and teach them to develop a suspicious instinct that will lead to developing skills in giving full description of the perpetrator, cars and others. But one must not approach them right on the spot.
Congratulations Councilman Ramon Camacho and all of you that are joining in kicking off this program. Keep it up. I am sure this will balloon the minute people start seeing results. But stay safe, my friends.
ALFRED A. PANGELINAN
Dandan, Saipan
