Leaders of the five neighborhoods celebrated the end of the "South Charlotte Homeowners Against Residential Crime" -- or SCHARC -- competition Sunday in Park Crossing, a neighborhood off Park Road near Johnston Road.
Park Crossing competed with Huntingtowne Farms, Montibello, Quail Hollow Estates, and the Old Salem/Woodbridge communities to see who could do the best job of preventing property crimes by following a few simple tips, like keeping garage doors closed, keeping cars locked, and storing valuables out of sight in cars.
Community officers like John Kitchens and Beth Jackson would randomly check the neighborhoods and assess "points" when they found garage or car doors open, or valuable items like GPS, keys, or sunglasses in plain sight in the cars. The neighborhood with the fewest points would win.
"We've had a lot of comments, a lot of feedback," said Park Crossing Homeowners Association President Lang Holding. "And the excitement of the fact that we're in first place has been good for motivation."
Park Crossing would send "e-mail blasts" reminding neighbors to follow the tips, and keeping them on top of the points standings. A quick conversation with homeowners by the community pool Sunday confirmed that many of the neighbors knew of the competition and were taking part.
Officer Kitchens said he noticed a big difference in just a few months.
"In January, a lot of neighborhoods were getting negative points because they were leaving garage doors up and leaving valuables in the car," said Kitchens. "In March or so, we started seeing fewer points."
By the end of June, property crimes had dropped by half compared to the first six months of the year before.
"The overall crime rate dropped," said Kitchens. "And some of the neighborhoods in that six month period didn't have any crime at all."
Park Crossing walked away with the overall trophy, but Sgt. Travis Pardue said everyone won -- the communities, the residents, and police. One of the best outcomes, besides the drop in crime, was the relationships created between neighborhood associations and the officers who patrol the streets.
Pardue said Officers Kitchens and Jackson have been invited to make a presentation about it at a conference in Tennessee.
The competition itself, however, moves on to five new neighborhoods -- this time, across Park Road from the old ones. Get ready to close your garage doors, Cameron Woods.
