Forest Glen Neighborhood Watch shared how they started, urged communities to implement their own 

CENTERVILLE— The Forest Glen Neighborhood Watch has been around for almost a year and has grown a lot since its origination. The group started with 12 members and it currently has 87 followers on their Facebook page. 

Neighborhood Watch Coordinator Missie Ayers thought the neighborhood she moved into would be a safe and quiet one when she first moved in. One day, Ayers heard gunshots fairly close to her neighborhood. 

“I literally ducked and went to reach for my dogs because I thought it was being shot my way, that’s how close it was,” she said. “We didn’t really think anything of it.” 

Ayers then heard more gunshots that same night and the following day. She called law enforcement to come and check it out. 

Ayers said Centerville Police Officers told her the area where she believed she heard gunshots was out of their jurisdiction. She was then encouraged to contact the Houston County Sheriff’s Office, however, the Sheriff’s Office could not look into the situation any further at that point. 

Neighbors then took matters into their own hands when they found a homeless encampment in the area, Ayers said. 

“I was like ‘that’s not cool and that’s our backyard’,” she said. 

According to Ayers, there was drug paraphernalia and pieces of weapons that were considered evidence in a previous investigation. The next day, Ayers decided to go before the Centerville City Council to talk about their situation. 

“I spoke for ten minutes on how we were not going to put up with it, and that they need to increase patrols, and figure out why there are shooting guns back there,” she said. 

Ayers got the idea for starting a Neighborhood Watch from Councilman Edward Armijo. 

“He told us ‘if we want to fight crime then we need to all get together as a neighborhood and be the eyes and ears for the police’,” she said. “That way we can work together to get the homeless people relocated and the gunshots stopped.” 

At this point, Ayers said they had been hearing gunshots almost every night. There was also one instance where Ayers pointed out that some cars in their neighborhood were being broken into. 

“With all of the video that showed him from the break-ins and the shootings, they made an arrest,” she said. 

According to Ayers, after the arrest, there have not been any more shootings in the neighborhood. 

Ayers shared they have a Neighborhood Watch meeting once a month with members of public safety departments and agencies around the county in attendance. These include members of the Centerville Fire Department and Houston County Sheriff Matt Moulton.  

“At every meeting someone, one of these departments has filled us in on something that we had no idea about,” she said. 

The Forest Glen Neighborhood Watch is still a small group and they are still recruiting for those interested. 

“The more neighborhood watches you have in a community, the less often you are going to have people out there committing crimes,” she said. “We are all watching out for each other.” 

Ayers encourages other communities in Centerville and Houston County to think about starting their own neighborhood watch. 

Keep up with the Forest Glen Neighborhood Watch by going to their Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61565911242156