By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
CLAREMONT, N.H. — Claremont City Councilor Bill Limoges had heard rumblings of residents concerned about crime and made a suggestion on social media of forming a neighborhood watch. While many jumped at the opportunity from their keyboards, a meeting about forming the watch was sparsely attended.
Limoges said on Monday that three members of the public attended the March 27 meeting at the Claremont Savings Bank Community Center in person, and another five from Zoom. While it was a little discouraging at first, he would not call the attempt a failure.
“I hesitate to call the meeting not a success, and it is easy to do that just by numbers, but you never know where those numbers are going to go either,” Limoges said. “What is important is the people who did show up.”
Limoges said that he saw on a Facebook page where residents were complaining about crime, and someone commented that a Facebook page should be made for a neighborhood watch. He took the initiative, and just a couple minutes of his time, and put together the group and set up the meeting. He even linked the meeting to Zoom because some expressed that they wouldn’t be able to make it in person.
Limoges expected a better turnout, but was impressed that Chief Brent Wilmot and Deputy Chief Chris Allen treated the meeting like it was a room full of concerned citizens.
Limoges called every member of the city council before the meeting to see if they supported it, and he brought it up at a council meeting as well. He said everyone was supportive, but he isn’t sure what direction anything will be taken from here.
“As a councilor you always try to do what is best for the people and the city, and there had been so much complaining about crime, I felt this was a simple way to prevent it,” he said. “You aren’t engaging and out patroling, but keep your eyes open, and if you see something, say something.”
This is the message brought forward during the meeting by Chief Wilmot, as well. Wilmot stressed that the department is all for a neighborhood watch “within reason”
“Eyes and ears in every neighborhood is a benefit to us,” Wilmot said.
Wilmot said an important aspect is for residents to not try to do their own policing and not engage as it could escalate a situation to violence. An example he used was if someone were to steal a lawn gnome, he said let them have it, get a description and find as much information as possible. This includes things like height, whether they have facial hair, what they are wearing and a physical description.
He said that eyewitness testimony can be fairly unreliable so focus on “big picture items.”
“A black Tundra pickup truck tells us a lot more than a smart car,” Wilmot said.
Wilmot said photographs and surveillance cameras are always beneficial. About a year-and-a-half ago the Claremont Police Department was dealing with a violent crime on West Center Street, and surveillance cameras at home helped trace where a suspect was.
“We have solved a lot of crimes based on surveillance footage, so we encourage people to get it and share with us,” Wilmot said.
Wilmot was asked if there has been an increase in crime, and he said while types of crimes change, the numbers have been about the same. While he admitted the department is still understaffed, he said they are in a lot better shape than last year. He blamed social media for amplifying the amount of crime in the city.
“The perception is there is crime everywhere and that is simply not the case,” Wilmot said. “I would say it is stable.”
While there was a small turnout, resident Shannon Welch did call in while watching from Zoom. She explained that there has been criminal activity in the North Street area, including people “clearly on drugs,” and several houses of concern. She said the NIMMA dojo is right there, and there will be 80 youth campers there shortly, and was concerned about the activity. Chief Wilmot said he would discuss specifics with the woman separate from the meeting.
A woman named Cynthia Boland said she called the police that afternoon about a pickup truck in their cul-de-sac parked near a house owned by someone who goes back and forth from Claremont to Chatham. She took the license plate down and reported it to the police. While she wasn’t happy with the initial response of police who took down information, she said the meeting was “very rewarding,” as she was able to speak directly to Wilmot.
Wilmot agreed and said this helps the community and department alike.
“This is really the hallmark of community policing,” Wilmot said.
