MILFORD: More than just petty annoyances have plagued the residents of Milford since last year, and surrounding communities have seen a rise in thefts and break and enter burglaries. But local citizens and RCMP are taking initiatives to keep their eye on what’s going on in the neighbourhood.

RCMP held a second community meeting at the fire hall in Milford on Jan. 20. It’s one in a series of meetings that are planned to keep people informed of crimes reported in their community and what they and others are already doing to keep in the loop.

Staff Sgt. Murray Urquhart started the meeting of with some crime statistics from 2009. While there were only three break and enter burglaries in Milford, there had been several daytime burglaries reported in the Belnan area, and thefts from vehicles reported in the Corridor area.

“(The offenders are with) an organized group from Halifax. What they’ll do is knock on the front door and if no one is home, they’d walk right in; if someone was home, they’d make some sort of excuse,” said S/ Sgt. Urquhart.

Local resident and fire Chief Ralph Wardrope and wife Jocelyn could identify, as they had their home broken into last year. Hindsight being 20/20, they see now there were a few thing they could have done to track the offenders down.

“I didn’t take any of the serial numbers down from our T.V.’s or computers, which would have helped,” said the Milford Fire Chief.

“They were very neat and tidy about it, they took the things off my window sill and put them back on (presumably after they had climbed in),” said Jocelyn Wardrope.

Extra patrols and police dogs helped track down three individuals who are now in custody and awaiting trial. Although these three have been arrested, a larger group is still believed to be active in the Spryfield area in Halifax.

Although Milford boasted a relatively low crime rate compared to other neighbouring communities, there is still cause for concern for some residents. One resident who lives close to Hants East Rural High is annoyed at the students that straddle his property line during the lunch hour, often littering, and making noise.

“How far can I push it to get them off my property? They’ll smoke on my front lawn and give me attitude, but they won’t move.”

The resident said they’d also deface property and that even if they stayed away for a few days they would be back to re-enact the rigmarole.

Milford Councillor Willy Versteeg acknowledged some of these problems in relation to vandalism in the area.

“We have a couple of instances of vandalism taking place right around the REC (Riverside Education Centre), and these usually happen at night and when the weather is warmer,” said Versteeg.

S/Sgt. Urquhart told the resident that one thing he could do was contact the school and notify the RCMP officer that is dedicated to patrolling HERH and can keep an eye out. He encouraged all residents to report any suspicious activity they see.

Some of the core crime stats around East Hants and Milford include nine instances of disturbing the peace, and 19 reports of damage to property. On the watch for these types of crimes are Citizens on Patrol (COP), a volunteer organization that patrols the area and works as a mobile neighbourhood watch.

Bill Harper, one of the main organizers of the COP program spoke on behalf of the 15 active volunteers that participate, what the program entails, and where they notice the most activity.

“We notice young people hanging about near the Co-op, the school, the community centre,” said Harper, who patrols with other volunteers.

Although reported crimes were relatively low for the area, there were 10 reports of drug possession, nine of which were for marijuana and one for cocaine. There were three criminal arrests associated with this. There were 16 events of theft under $5,000 and one robbery.

Residents in the area who attended the meeting were encouraged to keep their eyes and ears open and report anything suspicious to the RCMP, and to use local resources like COP.

acano@enfieldweeklypress.com