South Lincoln Neighbors Work Together to Stop Crime

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – In recent months, Lincoln has been rocked by crime, leading more people to join neighborhood watch groups.

Regina Thompson is the neighborhood watch officer for her cul-de-sac in the Southern Hills neighborhoods.

She joined the group after someone tried to break into her old house.

Since then, she has kept a close eye on her neighborhood, making sure no one has the opportunity to commit a crime.

“The first thing they taught us is that to prevent crime, you first have to look at the criminal, the crime, what’s valuable and the opportunity,” Thompson said. “Neighborhood Watch is about educating people to eliminate the opportunity.”

Thompson believes being prepared for crimes will deter crooks and give police more time to solve bigger problems.

“You can’t be everywhere, even if you have three times the number of police officers,” Thompson said. “That’s what neighborhood watch is. You’re the eyes and ears of your neighborhood that you share with the police.”

To help protect her neighborhood, she makes sure she knows all of her neighbors.

One of her neighbors told her she felt safe knowing Thompson was just across the street.

“She knew the dog we were dog sitting, we knew her dog,” Thompson said. “If you get into the habit of knowing each other, whether you talk to them, go out to dinner or just know them, there’s safety in numbers. And there’s safety in knowing each other.”

Neighborhood members work together by making sure each other’s garage doors are closed, looking for suspicious cars and reminding people to lock their doors.

Thompson even sends a quarterly email to the neighborhood filled with safety updates and reminders.