By Kerri Pepoy,Staff Writer

LOVELL – Residents are in the early stages of forming a neighborhood crime watch program to respond to what they say has been an increase in burglaries and thefts over the past several months in this western Maine town of about 1,000 people.

“There has been a very bad rash of burglaries in Lovell; it’s escalated since the first of the year,” said Roxanne Craig, a 26-year resident who began organizing the crime watch program with others.

Craig said in a recent phone interview that her garage was burglarized twice in recent months, and several other private garages, vehicles, and local businesses have been targeted.

Residents have had items stolen from their garages and vehicles, and businesses have lost cash from their registers. Craig said she could not pinpoint what spurred the crime increase, but residents are fed up, and that sparked the idea of a crime watch program.

“It’s brought people together like you wouldn’t believe,” she said.

About 50 residents turned out for an initial meeting on Feb. 28 and listened to suggestions from law enforcement officers. Another meeting will be held in late March.

Craig said the town will eventually be broken into “zones” and each zone will have a captain. Neighbors will keep a close watch on goings-on in their zones and report anything suspicious or unusual to law enforcement, she said.

“We are helpers for (law enforcement,”) she said. “We aren’t going to catch any criminals ourselves.”

Corille Bresette, another Lovell resident, said she and other organizers of the crime watch program are working with town officials to find funding for neighborhood crime watch signs that will be placed around town.

Bresette said she has not been a crime victim, but most of her neighbors have not been as fortunate. “Almost every one of our neighbors has been hit,” she said. “We think the town will be behind us.”

Sgt. Tim Ontengco of the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office spoke to residents at the February meeting and said crime watch programs are valuable tools to help law enforcement solve crimes.

There is a limited number of patrol deputies, so residents who report suspicious activity can be very helpful, he said. “We have other crime watches throughout the county that are a great asset to us. It’s more eyes and ears for us.”

Ontengco said an active crime watch program in Hiram has led to arrests. He said he urged Lovell residents to report any suspicious persons or activity, even if it appears minor.

“If a person gets a gut feeling that something is not right, they should report it,” he said. “Nothing is too small to report as far as information.”

Information and tips may be reported to the Sheriff’s Office by phoning (800) 733-1421 and pressing “4” when the automated response system answers. Callers do not have to leave their names.

Ontengco, who attended the meeting along with Sgt. Matt Baker and Deputy Tom Harriman, also from the Sheriff’s Office, said the turnout was encouraging. “When there’s a problem in town, there is a lot of interest in fixing the problem,” he said.

Ontengco said he told residents to never put themselves in danger. For example, if someone spots a suspicious driver, get the license plate number if possible, but do not confront the driver, he said.