ROSEMEAD - Criminals operating in the city of Rosemead better watch out as the city's neighborhood watch program is back and in full swing.

Hosting a meeting on July 28, Frank Quintenilla, block captain of Vane Avenue, said the program is very important to keeping the community together.

"We need to keep our community safe and the best way to do it is to have the neighbors know each other and know what goes on on their street," Quintenilla said.

The lifelong Rosemead resident added the neighbors are looking out for suspicious individuals, suspicious vehicles and unattended alarms going off.

Mandy Wong, public safety coordinator for the city of Rosemead, agreed with Quintenilla.

"What we want to do is get the community and the public on the street to network and to report any suspicious activity to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, because what we've found is streets and blocks that have neighborhood meetings have a fewer number of crimes on their streets," Wong said.

Deputy Dave Lopez works out of Temple Station and is part of the Rosemead Special Assignment Team that helps oversee starting new meetings along with Wong. Lopez said he wants the community to remain vigilant at all times.

"Our main goal is we want to build that rapport with the community," Lopez said. "These meetings are very effective. By having these meetings we bring to the attention of the people who are here the problems that are going on in the city, and the fact that the city of Rosemead is so large and diverse, not only do I bring out the problems the city itself is facing, but I'll get into the issues a particular street or block is having."

Lopez said some of the main crimes in Rosemead - and across the San Gabriel Valley - are home and vehicle burglaries.

"With these meetings I like to explain to them how not to be a victim of a home or vehicle burglary," Lopez said.

There are 28 block captains throughout Rosemead, Wong said, along with 34 certified emergency response team members.

Lopez added these meetings give neighbors a chance to get out of their houses and meet everyone.

"We don't just build the rapport (with the department), but it gives a chance for neighbors to get to know each other," he said. "It's not a coincidence that streets and blocks with neighborhood watch programs have a dramatically lower rate of crime."

(Shel Segal can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .)