The plan is, Shelnut said, for residents to volunteer to be crime watch captains. These captains would be the liason between the police department and their neighborhood. Police officers will be on hand to offer a presentation to get the community watches started, Shelnut said.

&dquo;It&squo;s a great thing, but the people have to make it work,&dquo; Shelnut told council members. &dquo;It&squo;s using yourselves to protect yourselves.&dquo;

Shelnut said a good example is that in the last few months there were break- ins occurring during the day and if neighborhood watches were set up and the city had people aware of the problems, someone could have called in any suspicious persons in the area.

One suggestion was once crime watch captains are established, the police department could send emails to those captains alerting them of any crimes going on in areas. The captains could spread the word throughout neighborhoods and residents could alert the police of any suspicious activity.

Anyone interested in volunteering to be a crimewatch captain should contact the Landrum Police Department at 457-3333.