Published on Wednesday, April 20, 1994
© 1994 The Arizona Republic

Byline: By Ryan Konig, Staff writer

A man jumped out of a parked sports car and started to climb an alley fence. He froze when he saw the silhouette of a taller man walking a dog nearby in the alley.

The would-be burglar darted to his car and sped off into the darkness of the cooling night.

For Frank Kostyun, the man with the dog, the recent encounter with the would-be burglar is proof that a new city program will reduce crime by training people to patrol their neighborhoods.

The program is called Block Watchers, and it was largely developed by residents in Kostyun's neighborhood near Encanto Park.

Last week, the City Council approved the program, as presented by the Phoenix Block Watch Advisory Board.

The program will provide volunteers with police training, scanners and portable phones to patrol neighborhoods and report problems to police. The first training session is scheduled for April 30.

Kostyun is one of several Encanto Park area residents who take evening strolls, mostly as a way to meet neighbors, take the dog out and get some exercise.

Many also recognize the other benefits of being out and about -- it scares off burglars, car thieves and other criminals.

''I do this mostly for recreation,'' Kostyun said. ''Even so, I keep my eyes open. Every now and then you see a stranger approaching a house. They see you walking down the street, and suddenly they take off running. I've probably diverted a couple of burglaries just by taking the dog out for a walk.''

Gerry McCue, a neighbor of Kostyun who also takes to the sidewalks in the evenings, said the Block Watchers program should be successful in deterring crime.

The Block Watchers program hopes to accomplish on a large scale what Kostyun and McCue have done in their neighborhood, said Richard Fox, president of the Block Watch Advisory Board.

Police Sgt. Rick Switzer said the program will begin in the Central City Precinct and the Cactus Park Precinct in northwest Phoenix.

City officials hope that the program eventually will be expanded citywide.

Volunteers will receive about 30 hours of training with police to develop skills for describing suspects, recognizing criminal activity and avoiding confrontations.

Officer Mark Bell said the volunteers will have T-shirts, caps and magnetic car door signs to identify them as Block Watchers.

Volunteers interested in becoming Block Watchers in central and northwest Phoenix should call the Community Action officers at the Central City Precinct, 495-5005, and the Cactus Park Precinct, 495-5009.