New Neighborhood Watch begins

Morgan City Police Chief James Blair and Lt. John Schaff, public information officer, interacted with the citizens of section seven of the city, Brashear Avenue to Ditch Avenue and Federal Avenue to La. 182, as they activated their Neighborhood Watch program during its first meeting Wednesday at the Morgan City Recreation Department. “It’s good to have community involvement. … We can’t fix everything, but we can try,” Blair said.
The Neighborhood Watch program is a community tool which creates an open line of communication with the community and the police department.
“If you think something is not right, it is your God-given right to call (the police),” Schaff said. Concerns that citizens brought to the meeting were speeding on Ditch Avenue and Eighth Street, panhandling, and fear and distrust of the police department on the part of young people. Councilman Ron Bias said that the new bike patrol is helping to get rid of the distrust in the police department.
“The bike patrol introduced themselves and shook hands, and it’s things like that that help break down the barrier,” Bias said.
“We don’t know these things. You know your neighborhood. Neighborhood Watch is what you make it,” Schaff said. “The concerns of the citizens will be brought to the patrol division and changes will start to happen,” Schaff said.
As citizens brought their concerns, Schaff said that MCPD will always communicate with the public the most up to date information on technology, drug and other criminal trends. One trend that is starting to make its way into Morgan City is the opioid crisis. Schaff said that the MCPD equipped themselves with a five-year supply of Narcan, a drug used to temporarily block the effects of opioids, especially in an overdose, in preparation if the opioid crisis becomes bad in the city. Schaff also said a popular social media trend is the new Map feature on the SnapChat app, which allows users to locate a person and constantly track their location. The Map feature is meant to be used to find popular events but has also opened the door to criminal activity. Schaff said that the dialogue that occurred at the meeting needs to happen consistently within the Neighborhood Watch program and for citizens to encourage more neighbors to join. For more information about Neighborhood Watch and activated communities, contact Schaff at 985-380-4605.