NORWAY – Police Chief Robert Federico outlined a possible path for the town’s Neighborhood Watch program at a public meeting Wednesday night.

The informational gathering was the second hosted by the department. Federico expressed optimism that the number of attendees, five, had increased since the first meeting. He had expected representatives from the Town and Country Trailer Park, who have invited the police to speak on the program at their community meeting, but they did not appear.

Detective Gary Hill and Sgt. Jim Ventresca of the Norway Police Department were also present.

Federico gave a PowerPoint presentation highlighting ways participants can raise awareness of Neighborhood Watch and the activities the organization can hold. The presentation suggested a campaign of fliers, newsletters and bulletins, as well as informing others of the program via phone and e-mail.

“Constantly be out there looking for people you think might be interested in this sort of thing,” Federico advised.

The presentation also focused on the need to keep the program’s momentum going, which Federico said is “one of the hardest things to establish.” He said momentum can be established by holding regular meetings and interesting community events, and keeping in contact with members of other Neighborhood Watch programs, such as those already in place in Bridgton and Lovell.

Federico said the proposed agenda for Neighborhood Watch meetings has a potluck supper, local meeting and guest speakers. At Federico’s request, the attendees suggested topics they were interested in learning more on from speakers, including home security, mail security and neighbor policy.

The program offers specialized training for several topics, including family violence protection and self-defense.

Federico said the police are willing to help the public with their Neighborhood Watch activities, but residents must organize the program themselves. Hill believes that public vigilance is an important factor in forcing criminals to stop their behavior or leave the area.

The police also engaged in informal discussion with the public on several issues. Federico said certain areas of Norway have higher crime simply because of their greater population, though he also acknowledged that the town’s proximity to larger cities makes it susceptible to criminals relocating from those areas.

Residents were also curious about the town’s sex offender policy. Norway currently has 16 registered sex offenders living in the town. Their names, addresses and photos are posted at the police station.

The tentative date for the next meeting of the Neighborhood Watch is May 9.