Tired of the break-ins and drug deals that kept curtains closed and kids inside, Ossineke residents decided they wanted to be a part of the solution.

The result, a neighborhood watch group formed in collaboration with the Alpena County Sheriff’s Office, has sent the message that criminals are not welcome in the village of about 900 residents.

Like phone trees of years past, a neighborhood watch program creates a network to quickly funnel information from the community to police, and from police to the community, to help stop crime when — or even before — it happens.

That network has helped land people in jail, curbed drug activity, and fostered a new pride among Ossineke residents, said Deputy Mike Lash, neighborhood watch coordinator for the Alpena County Sheriff’s Office.

News Photo by Julie Riddle As Ossineke resident Susan Souva looks on, Wayne Girard, right, and Art Olson hold neighborhood watch identification cards in Ossineke on Tuesday.

The Ossineke neighborhood watch program is the only such local effort that has taken root and prospered, but police hope more residents consider adopting the program, Lash said.

“We create nosy neighbors,” Lash said. “Which isn’t a bad thing. You’re nosy of everybody to make sure crime stays down in your neighborhood.”

The Ossineke watch group formed in 2013, when residents fed up with extensive property and drug crime reached out to police for help.

What started as 19 watch members has grown to 116 Ossineke residents trained to spot irregularities that might mean crime brewing.

“That’s a lot of eyes watching,” Lash said, talking with several watch members on Tuesday.

News Photo by Julie Riddle Ossineke residents, from left, Art Olson, Susan Souva, and Wayne Girard and Deputy Mike Lash of the Alpena County Sheriff’s Office, left, stand guard over Ossineke neighborhoods on Tuesday.

Shortly after the watch program formed, a policing blitz netted more than 40 Ossineke-area arrests in a month.

The police crackdown caught prospective crime-doers’ attention, but lasting change required ongoing vigilance by the people who wanted a safer community, Lash said.

The watch group — named STOPLOCK, or Sanborn Township On Patrol; Local Ossineke Citizens Kare — has reported information that landed criminals behind bars, said Ossineke watch member Art Olson.

“We watched one guy who was making a mess around here,” Olson said. “Pretty soon, he made a boo-boo. And now he’s in jail.”

Watch members don’t approach suspicious people, and they don’t carry guns.

Instead, they watch and report.

“This is my weapon,” said watch member Wayne Girard, holding up his phone.

Lash recalled the phone call from a Michigan State Police trooper about a missing four-wheeler a few years ago.

With a tip reported from a watch member the day before, Lash was able to tell the trooper where to find the machine, he said.

Police can use watch groups to warn residents about a rash of break-ins or to disseminate snapshots of suspicious people residents might be able to identify.

Watch members don’t insert themselves into a suspicious situation, but their watchful presence can send criminals packing, said Olson and Girard, who used to watch drug transactions between rolled-down car windows in and around the village.

“They finally said, ‘We can’t sell our drugs here. You won’t leave us alone,'” said Susan Souva, a friend of Olson and Girard who sometimes acts as their “ride along” on watch patrols.

Olsen sweeps through his neighborhood at random times, looking for anything out of the ordinary — a door left open, a strange car, movement in a home that should be empty, people out walking at 3 a.m.

Watch members don’t have to be on an intentional patrol to keep tabs on their neighborhood, however. They might watch for trouble as they shop for groceries or while taking the long way home from the post office, Girard said.

Lash teaches watch members what to look for in their neighborhoods.

They also learn how to adjust the environment around their homes — from adding motion-activated lights and cameras to structuring their front lawns — to discourage potential intruders.

The safer a neighborhood, the more residents invest in their homes — and in their communities, Lash said.

At a community beach once taken over by criminal activity, families once again spend summer afternoons celebrating birthdays and holding family reunions, Girard said.

New playground and volleyball equipment at the park — like the fresh coat of paint adorning Paul Bunyan in another town park — mark renewed pride in the community since the watch program began, Lash said.

A Neighborhood Watch sign hanging near his mailbox and a pair of binoculars at the ready on his kitchen table, Olson has regular conversations in his driveway with Girard, Lash, and other residents who want to talk about their town.

The watch program, while chasing crime away, Olson said, has connected neighbors who want to communicate a unified message about their community: “Don’t mess with it.”

“You’re gonna be watched,” Girard said.

Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693 or jriddle@thealpenanews.com. Follow her on Twitter @jriddleX.