Dozens of families attended the first meeting with police, held over coffee and cookies in Sellitti's living room. Some residents didn't know their next-door neighbors had been robbed. You're waving to a passing car. In the four years since that first meeting, Holmdel's neighborhood watch has become a linchpin of the township's crime-fighting effort, growing to include 950 families in 45 different groups, said Police Sgt. John Mioduszewski, who administers the program.
Neighborhood watch participants call police when they spot loitering strangers or suspicious cars.
Police activate the program's telephone network when they want extra eyes looking for a suspect. That crime rate ranked the township 30th among the 48 Monmouth County towns with their own police departments. Among the state's 216 suburban towns, Holmdel ranked 121st. In the 15 years from 1982 through 1996, Holmdel never had more than 18 violent crimes in any year. The rate spiked to 30 major crimes per 1,000 residents in 1991 but has fallen since then.