People living in the Huntridge area are taking police's advice and starting Neighborhood Watch Group.
"What they really wanted us to do was make sure that each one of us was in contact with people on either side of us and across the street from us," said Neighborhood Watch captain in-training Kathleen Kahr.
Kahr lives right near Huntridge Circle Park and she's sick of all the crime the park brings.
"When you have more people than you should in a neighborhood park, you end up having criminals hiding in plain sight among the people that are less fortunate," she said.
Kahr says she is not blaming the homeless that stay in the park for the crime. But she and other neighbors want them to take advantage of new resources being offered to them nearby.
"This is a wonderful neighborhood and everyone really gets along well and really are on the same page as far as making this a happy healthy neighborhood."
Dozens of residents went to a meeting with Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Tuesday night to learn how to start their own Neighborhood Watch group.
A crime prevention specialist with Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department says neighborhoods that have watch groups have 88% less property crime than neighborhoods without them.
It's because they know their neighbors, they're looking out for one another, and they are given simple and easy crime prevention tips by police that many of them take advantage of.
A neighborhood near Gowan and Clayton in North Las Vegas has had their Neighborhood Watch Group for six years.
"In a one year period, the first year we started, crime went down 33% in this neighborhood," said Neighborhood Watch Group Captain Terry Paulfrey. "We learned from there that there's a lot you can do that is not expensive that can make your area safer."
The Neighborhood Watch Coordinator Teresa Cragon says she and her neighbors wanted something to change after a 2010 murder that turned into a cold case
"I had to do something cause this is unacceptable," she said. "I think a lot of things slowly but surely have changed and it sends a message to people that this neighborhood right here is not the neighborhood for you if you want to commit crime."
If you want to learn how to create your own Neighborhood Watch Group, just sign up here.
