Edinburg police launch Dog Walker Watch Program

EDINBURG, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Edinburg Police Department wants residents to help sniff our crime by introducing a new program for pet owners.

The Dog Walker Watch program aims to unite the community by turning pet owners into an extra set of eyes and ears for law enforcement.

Dozens, if not hundreds, of neighbors, walk their dogs throughout the community at various times of the day and with the creation of this program it seeks to empower them to assist local law enforcement by observing and reporting any suspicious activity they may encounter while out with their furry companions.

Local pet owners like Jarod Munoz already feel safer and are looking forward to the program.

“The new neighborhood watch program I think is going to be very beneficial to those just kind of walking around the neighborhood and everything and just kind of dog walkers in general," said Munoz. "I know I would definitely feel safer walking around town knowing that I had their support.”

The program comes from the National Town Watch Association which is meant to decrease crime rates across Edinburg.

"Everything that the department does is going to be community-based. Why? Because it’s a long-term solution to any type of criminal problem you might have in the area and it’s all due to the relationship that we have with our community," said Edinburg Police Lieutenant Gabriel Reyna Vela.

Vela says it will work like other neighborhood watches to teach residents about crime trends and how to report suspicious activity while establishing trust in a new community.

“With that trust, comes to the trust to place a phone call. You know, a call for service in which we want to train the person to properly describe a suspicious vehicle, a suspicious person and how to do that," said Vela.