Community fights back with Facebook

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The recent amount of crimes in Michiana has triggered many neighborhood watch groups all over the area, and now one South Bend neighborhood has created a different type of neighborhood watch group through social media.

A member of the board of the Sunnymeade Association created a crime watch Facebook page, so that when neighbors see anything suspicious they can let their neighbors know about it on their Facebook wall.

Mark Curtis says when he first moved in on Longfellow two years ago, he had some unwanted visitors at his home.

“They cut my sister’s screen window and got into the window that way and they took my TV and my laptop," said Mark Curtis.

He said since the break in two years ago he has not had any problems and he says the neighbors in the area are pretty tight knit and look out for one another.

“We have had neighbors ask if we wanted them to watch our house during breaks because we are students," said Curtis.

Neighbor and member of the Sunnymeade Facebook page Jill La Fountain decided to take the crime watch one step further by creating a Sunnymeade Crime Watch Facebook page.

“We are a really tight neighborhood, anything that comes up they will probably post it, along with if someone is looking for their dog or cat," said Curtis.

Curtis says as one of the younger neighbors on the street he likes the idea of being able to check up on what's going on in his neighborhood through Facebook.

“I think it is actually a really good way to get people involved in crime watch because not everyone wants to join a neighborhood society, but everyone I know has Facebook," said Curtis.