Within the first couple years Miriam Rose has lived in Sequim she’s reported a young man shooting up outside Safeway and most recently confronted a burglar attempting to enter her home.

The man Rose reported shooting up died in vehicle accident where drug paraphernalia was present within a year of her report and the recent burglar was arrested on two counts of second-degree criminal trespass, one count of third-degree theft and possession of a controlled substance.

“Here, I thought I was moving to a nice town in the country,” Rose said.

Rose moved from the Seattle area and settled near Sequim on five acres off Cameron Road. For 16 years Rose trained dogs and continues to do so.

“I have a real commitment to keeping drugs away from children,” she said.

Having worked closely with a variety of law enforcement to train drug, search and rescue and bomb dogs, Rose is adept at ensuring all precautions against neighborhood crimes, like property theft.

Despite her no trespassing signs, fence, locked gate and motion lights, Rose confronted a burglar at her doorstep trying to enter her home around 4 a.m. on a Sunday in early December. The man fled, but was quickly found hiding in nearby bushes by Clallam County Deputy Don Kitchen. Kitchen was already on Cameron Road responding to a previous report of three men. The man arrested, Richard Allen Welches, 22, of Port Angeles, was one of the three men committing serial property crimes within the area that morning.

“To me the fact that these men kept coming after being reported is a different level of desperation or determination or probably both,” Rose said. “Almost everyone I talked to had a problem that night, early morning.”

Based on the majority of the individuals caught committing property crimes, Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict said, “There’s a very strong correlation between heroin use and property crime.”

In the City of Sequim theft increased 15 percent from 236 incident counts in 2010 to 271 in 2015. However, in the unincorporated Clallam County, known as Area 1, which runs from Diamond Point west to McDonald Creek, theft decreased 9 percent from 406 incident counts in 2010 to 371 in 2015, according to the Clallam County Sheriff Office.

Unlike theft that reflects slight ups and downs in the number of incident counts from year-to-year, auto theft in 2015 more than doubled compared to 2010 in both the City of Sequim and Area 1.

“Once stats start to go up, to me, that’s too late,” Rose said.

Neighborhood Watch

In reaction to the burglar, Rose collaborated with the county Sheriff’s Office to host a Neighborhood Watch meeting to educate residents about what can be done to protect against crime.

The well-attended meeting on Jan. 13 was among many similar meetings conducted throughout the years as neighborhoods are seemingly turning toward a more grassroots approach to fight crime. On average the Sheriff’s Office annually provides about 20 Neighborhood Watch presentations for residents countywide, Lorraine Shore, Clallam County Sheriff’s Office administrative coordinator, said.

“Over the past eight years we’ve educated thousands of residents on crime prevention and how to target harden their homes and property as well as how to effectively communicate with law enforcement,” she said. “This proactive approach to policing is essential in maintaining trust between residents that the law enforcement officers that serve them.”

Following the meeting, Rose and her neighbors plan to get more organized and are instituting a phone tree.

“People need to watch out for each other and most importantly report what they see,” Rose said. “Everyone has a responsibility. If you see a piece of trash on the ground, pick it up. If you see something, report it.”

Becoming more aware and improving communication between neighbors may better protect against property crimes, Rose said, but those efforts alone won’t make the problem go away.

“This isn’t going to get better by itself and there remains a huge drug problem in this county fueling an immense property crime problem,” she said.

Although fully impressed by the response of the Sheriff’s Office, Rose said, given the size of the county, she suggests perhaps more deputies could curb crime and drug use. She also looks to fellow citizens to work together to put pressure on elected officials, like judges, and the Legislature to ensure the county and its cities have the resources needed and processes in place to work against neighborhood crimes and drug addiction.

During the Neighborhood Watch meeting, Shore reminded those attending that the number of individuals committing the property crimes in Sequim and Clallam County is a small percentage of the residents.

“To me, that is another reason why we can change things — there is power in numbers,” Rose said.

“The type of crime we’re talking about doesn’t stand up in bright light, but it’s only going to get worse unless we get activated community-wide.”

Preventing crime: programs and resources

The Neighborhood Watch program offered through the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office is a crime prevention program that enlists the active participation of residents in cooperation with law enforcement to reduce crime, solve problems and improve the quality of life in your area. Under the program, officials from the Sheriff’s Office will visit an interested neighborhood to give a 90-minute presentation and answer questions.

For more information, contact Lorraine Shore, Clallam County Sheriff’s Office administrative coordinator, at 417-2262 or e-mail blockwatch@co.clallam.wa.us.

• For a wealth of information and programs, visit www.clallam.net/Sheriff or call 417-2262.

• Don’t hesitate to call 9-1-1 or dispatch for non-emergencies, at 417-2459.

• Provide feedback to improve enforcement efforts by completing an online survey for the Sheriff’s Office at www.surveymonkey.com/s/C8TJ8ZZ.

• Other resources:

— Federal Trade Commission (information on telemarketing/Internet scams and how to report them) www.ftc.gov

— CrimeReports.com (website that shows reported crime in your area) crimereports.com

— Washington State Office of the Attorney General (consumer alerts and events) atg.wa.gov/scam-alerts

— Scambusters.org (list of 15 steps you can take to prevent home burglary) www.scambusters.org/homeburglary.html

— NextDoor.com (a private social network for your neighborhood and provides a method of communication for residents) nextdoor.com

— ReportIt (securely store serial numbers, item descriptions, pictures and scans of receipts) reportit.leadsonline.com