A rise in residential burglaries and other crimes reported in the Santa Rosa Junior College neighborhood has prompted an effort to better organize the neighborhood to prevent burgeoning criminal activity.
Organizers hope interested residents will attend a meeting with Santa Rosa police at 7 p.m. today at First Congregational Church, 200 Humboldt St. Participants will brainstorm crime prevention strategies, said Scott Carpenter, one of those putting together the campaign.
He said the group is trying to assemble a committee of people who could be trained to promote neighborhood watch efforts.
"It's a growing issue," Carpenter said. "This is a nip-it-in-the-bud type of thing."
He said 13 burglaries have been reported this year in the neighborhood roughly bounded by College and Mendocino avenues and Lewis and North streets.
Among the stolen items was a computer that turned up for sale online the next day in San Francisco, Carpenter said.
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