Bloomingdale residents gather with the St. Armand town board to form a neighborhood watch on Tuesday. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

BLOOMINGDALE — The St. Armand town board is starting up a neighborhood watch group for the Bloomingdale area as residents say they’ve seen an increase in crime over the past year.

Town Supervisor Davina Thurston said the idea for a neighborhood watch came about from a “culmination” of issues and complaints around town.

She wasn’t sure if there would be interest in joining it, but from the 18 members of the public who attended the meeting on Tuesday, she said it was apparent there was. This was quite the crowd for the town board room.

Ben Kline, a member of the St. Armand comprehensive planning committee, said as they were planning the future of the town, one of the major improvements people wanted was to maintain safety. He said he loves Bloomingdale because his kids can get the “free range” childhood he had. They can walk down to the park, ride bikes around town — “textbook Americana,” he said.

Kline is also an administrator on the Bloomingdale Facebook group — a place where people post about events, free items, lost dogs and where they warn neighbors about bears and coyotes.

But the page also has a number of posts from people complaining about public drug use, vehicle and home break-ins, burning garbage, stolen town signs and trespassing.

Thurston pinned the blame on drug addiction. Drugs change people, she said.

“They might be the nicest person in the world, and then two years later they’re into meth and you don’t know who they are anymore,” Thurston said.

At the meeting, she brought information from the National Crime Prevention Council about starting a neighborhood watch, as well as a sign-up form, which more than 13 people signed.

Several attendees took extra sign-up sheets to share with friends who couldn’t make it to the meeting.

“That’s why we’re here,” Thurston said. “It is observe and report. It is not, you know, go out with baseball bats and beat up people on the street.”

Some attendees feigned disappointment at the more passive action, but said they have real frustration.

Thurston plans to create an email group and possibly a group text with the members to keep in contact.

She also said the town is looking into prices for neighborhood watch signs. They felt those could be a deterrent.

There’s not a lot of law enforcement in the area — only the State Police and, to a lesser extent, the Essex County Sheriffs. Residents said it can take 30 to 60 minutes for police to get there.

Joe Fisher and town Councilman Karl Law suggested they get a law enforcement representative involved to make sure they’re doing everything right. Thurston said she’s spoken with Essex County Sheriff David Reynolds, who she said supports the neighborhood watch idea. Thurston plans to invite him — as well as representatives from the State Police and Saranac Lake village police — to their next meeting.

Frank Whitelaw, the town judge and a former State Police trooper, said the problems are mostly in certain areas. Casey Field said he lives in one of those areas, across from the Youth Field.

Over the summer, he said he had to go over late at night to tell people who were drinking and partying on the playground pirate ship to leave.

In September, Thurston said there was a person who was found sleeping in the pirate ship after doing drugs inside the play area. Since kids crawl all over the ship, the town had it deep-cleaned. She said it wasn’t the first time this happened.

Afterward, the town put up “no trespassing” signs at the park from dusk until dawn.

“We’re not going to stand for it,” Thurston said. “This is for our kids. … That park was donated to the town for our kids. I will not stand for it.”

Field felt it is unfortunate for the kids that things are this way. They should be able to enjoy playing out late, he said, and lamented that responding to crime in the hamlet takes things away from kids.

There was debate over whether patrols are needed. Some said it could be unnecessary, or dangerous. Others felt it could be a deterrent to crime and comfort to residents.

They all see criminal or criminal-adjacent activity, they said. They just need a place to report it. Attendees also talked about creating a database of doorbell cameras and game cameras.

Attendees were frustrated that the authorities can’t do more. There are lots of hurdles to be cleared to make an arrest. The police need evidence, documentation and probable cause to issue warrants.

Not everything warrants a 911 call, Klein said, but everything should be documented.

Whitelaw feels new police officers are scared to death of getting in trouble, that actions during an arrest will lead to a lawsuit, their arrest or the loss of their job.

After the state reformed its bail system in 2019, bail is only applicable for certain offenses.

“I personally feel that bail reform is one of the single-worst pieces of legislation that has ever come out of New York state,” Thurston said.

She said it hurts people in addiction, too. She feels that holding someone in custody, and making them get into rehab programs could save their life.

Thurston said Whitelaw gets letters from people who he’s sent to jail who thanked him for the chance to get their lives back.

Whitelaw said he always gives the option of rehab and treatment first. Jail is a “last resort.”

The neighborhood watch group has just started forming, and members on Tuesday said they plan to meet again soon.