BY MATT SCHOOLEY

It isn’t only the men and women in uniform being certain that residents of Bow remain safe.

A group of volunteers in the area has come together to form the Bow Neighborhood Watch program, serving as another set of eyes for the Police Department in order to keep the community both secure and aware.

The group is led by volunteer coordinator Robert Louf, a man who is no stranger to the Neighborhood Watch system.

Louf first became interested in Neighborhood Watch about 12 years ago while living in La Mesa, Calif.

Although La Mesa is not anywhere close to the size of California’s big cities, Louf said it is still vastly different from anything found in New Hampshire.

“The issues (we faced), since our neighbor was San Diego, were far different than the ones we face in Bow. The problems that were typical were gang related and drug related. We had prostitution in addition to ramped burglaries,” said Louf. “We just tried to keep those kinds of crimes outside of our neighborhood boundaries.”

Last fall Bow was hit by a number of daytime home burglaries and the idea for a neighborhood crime watch was brought to Lt. Dave Girard’s attention.

Ten people from six different neighborhoods were present at the first meeting in February, and Girard hopes the group will continue to grow.

Although Louf knows he has a difficult task ahead of him in helping the community become interested in fighting off would-be crime, it is something he looks forward to continually taking on.

“It’s going to be a little more difficult here. Getting people involved in a crime deterrent program when people don’t really see crime as an issue is a difficult thing,” said Louf. “We’re going to try to give the perception to the people who want to move into town that we have a neighborhood watch program and if they do move into the town we want them to be a part of it.”

The low level of crime in Bow is something that attracted Louf to the program as well.

“What sparks my interest in Bow is that I see this as the kind of community people move to in order to get away from crime and general disrespect,” he said. “So I see the program as a way to maintain those community-level values.”

The community aspect of the program is something Girard stresses as well.

“We look at neighborhood watch as more than just an extra eye for the police. We look at it as a proactive community-oriented endeavor,” said Girard. “It’s an opportunity for us to get to know the community better and provide different types of education for them.”

Two examples of the education the group hopes to provide for the community will come in September.

On Sept. 17 at Bow High School, the organization will hold an informational session on Internet safety, and on Sept. 28 it will hold a women’s self-protection awareness class.

Although the Bow neighborhood watch crew has not stopped any potential crimes, Girard said he has still received more phone calls from the community, something he knows is another goal of the program.

“We don’t have any success stories yet,” said Girard. “I get calls and e-mails from people that normally I wouldn’t expect before the program got off the ground. Those open lines of communication between the department and the citizens are the bridges that we were looking to build when we started this program. I want them to be able to put a face to the Police Department, and to really know who they’re talking to.”

For more information on the group and for information on how to get involved, visit www.bowcrimewatch.com or contact the Bow Police Department at 228-1240.