NC Community Watch Association meets in Vance

Lt. Ray Goodwin, Bob Poisella, Starr Barbaro, and Angela Feingold

The North Carolina Community Watch Association met in Vance County on Saturday, September 16 at the Kenneth K. Robinson Police Training Center on Oxford Road.

Hosted by the Henderson Police Department, there were five local community watches represented, as well as guests and children:

*West Henderson Community Watch

*LeSIA (Lehman Street in Action) Community Watch

*Flint Hill Neighborhood Community Watch

*Pinkston Street Community Watch

*Pine/Raines Community Watch

There were two morning sessions conducted. The first was on identity theft, presented by Bob Poisella of the Governor’s Crime Commission. Mr. Poisella pointed out that there are 10 million identity theft victims a year and the average cost per victim to recover is $800, with an average of 175 hours per victim spent in the process. In North Carolina, an average of 300,000 citizens are ID victims.

Bob Poisella

Poisella stated that “You don’t have to give your social security number to anyone but IRS and your employer”. He said that shredding all unnecessary documents, including those pre-approved credit applications, was a good step in preventing “dump divers” from retrieving information they could use.

Starr Barbaro

The second presentation concerned how to protect yourself in your home, by Starr Barbaro of the Governor’s Crime Commission. She stated that 44% of the total burglaries took place in private homes.

“Take ownership, not only for your home, but your entire neighborhood,” Barbaro said.

She suggested that if your neighbor’s shrubs hide their windows, offer to trim them down. She also said that trashy areas in a neighborhood attract criminal elements just as much as poorly lit areas.

On a personal protection level, Barbaro recommended never walking at night alone or in a strange neighborhood. Walking with confidence and looking strangers in the eye and even smiling at them is a good tool, she said. An interesting fact is that more men are robbed than women.

Carrying a weapon was not recommended.

“Most people who carry a weapon are killed by their own weapon,” she said.

Even canes, baseball bats or knives can be turned on the victim. Pepper spray can also be dangerous if the victim is not familiar with its operation. She advised that yelling “call the police” was better than simply screaming. Her best advice was to always be aware of your surroundings, always follow your instincts and try to remain in familiar neighborhoods when taking walks. Training in basic self-defense is always advisable.