DESOTO COUNTY, MS (abc24.com) - "See something, say something." The DeSoto County Sheriff's Department is telling that to everyone.
Deputies are going neighborhood by neighborhood, posting signs and warning residents it's up to them to watch their homes.
Deputies say neighborhood watch programs are old and boring. Nobody participates. So two months ago, the sheriff's department started a new campaign.
"The more information everyone has, the more people know about it," says Sidney Greene. He's one of the first DeSoto County residents to go through the training.
"If you see something going on in your neighborhood, you should report it," he says.
"We're trying to get people to understand, if it's not right, to tell us about it or send us a tip," says Lt. Jason Smith. Deputies don't want one person on the look out, they want everybody watching.
They've revamped the old neighborhood watch signs to something that will attract more attention. Smith is in charge of "See Something, Say Something."
He says it's now easier than ever to get deputies the information they need.
"You just email us or send us a tip, instead of having us call out for a report. Instead of a response time in minutes to 30 minutes, it can be in seconds if we have an officer close."
Deputies have talked to about 5,000 residents so far, and are working their way through the county.
"If you live in that subdivision then you know what's out of place. If something is suspicious to you, it's probably wrong." Smith's telling people, don't wait for a crime to be committed, let patrols know now to prevent it from happening.
"Their eyes help us," he says. "If we don't have their eyes, we don't know what's going on."
Once they're finished with the county, deputies want to work in the cities since residents there make up most of DeSoto's population.
