College Park resident Kim Lugo is attempting to start regular neighborhood patrols to monitor the city.

At a meeting last night where Lugo was explaining her plan and trying to galvanize volunteers, various residents voiced their concerns about area crime to both Lugo and Prince George’s County District 1 Commander Maj. Kevin Davis.

The amount of crime around Route 1 last year prompted Lugo to start citizen patrols in College Park, she said. The area around Berwyn Road is the only community in College Park that already has citizen patrols.

The patrols will be part of the Neighborhood Watch program. Pairs will patrol the community together mainly on weekends in the early morning hours, Lugo said. Each person will wear yellow vests and have a walkie-talkie and cell phone to alert police if they spot suspicious activity.

She does not know exactly where the new patrols will operate around the city because it depends on where the volunteers want to go. The volunteers have not been trained yet, but Lugo wants them to be ready before the weather gets warmer and more people start to go outside.

Sixteen people had volunteered to join the Watch before last night’s meeting, Lugo said. Another seven volunteered after she had explained her plan.

“One person can really make a difference, and being aware of your surroundings is key,” Lugo said.

Vigilant citizens are extremely important to neighborhood safety, she said.

“I have my neighbors who watch out for me and I watch out for them,” said Lugo, who has been recognized by the FBI for her efforts.

In an interview, Davis said Neighborhood Watch is very important for the community because it increases the amount of people looking for suspicious activity.

“Neighbors need to know each other like they used to,” Davis said. “The relationships need to be stronger, not only among the community and police but amongst the community itself – that’s what Neighborhood Watch is all about.”

He told a story at the meeting about a man who is involved with Neighborhood Watch in Landover Hills and called the police when he saw people breaking into his neighbor’s house. The people the police arrested turned out to be Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang members breaking into the house to steal assault rifles.

“[Neighborhood Watch] increases the number of eyes and ears,” Davis said in an interview. “The police officers can’t do it alone.”

Prince George’s police assigned a captain, Anita Rosser-Gethers, to work specifically with the Neighborhood Watch program, Davis said. She helps coordinate all the Neighborhood Watch programs and helps with the training.

The group is not the first in the city to begin patrols. Several years ago, candidates vying for positions in the Student Government Association began various initiatives to patrol areas in and around campus. Students would kick off the community watches with an initial patrol, but no further patrols were ever assembled.

University Commuters Association President Jahantab Siddiqui said the organization he helps run, Terp Watch – a group of students that were trained to patrol the campus – said even though his group stopped patrolling in the past, he plans on redoubling some safety efforts.

Davis brought statistics from District 1 to show most crimes are down in the district – only the number of robberies went up since last year. But many citizens were concerned about beggars, gang graffiti and air bag theft.

Some of those attending the meeting seemed more concerned with asking Davis questions about crime than talking about the Watch initiative.

“Sometimes the community needs to hear it directly from the man in charge, and that’s me,” said Davis in an interview, who is in charge of the district that contains College Park.

Contact reporter Will Skowronski at skowronskidbk@gmail.com.