FAYETTEVILLE — Community Watch programs are designed to deter criminals, but the program only works if people who live in the community take it seriously. Residents of Fayetteville's Glendale Acres certainly do.

"We're aware of what's going on. If there's a stranger in the neighborhood we want to know why he's here," says Troy Nelson, president of Glendale Acres community watch program.

Nelson and about 40 other people who live in the neighborhood share nightly patrols shifts.

The patrols have helped the community cut crime in half.

Community officers are told not to confront or question anyone who might be dangerous. "We just ask that they ride around the neighborhood and look for strange vehicles or vehicles parked in someone's driveway with someone sitting in it, any activity that you would normally call police for yourself," Nelson says.

About 130 households, or half the community, are dues-paying members of the community watch.

"It takes a good core of about 30 people to have the time and to be dedicated. And If you have that, you're going to have a successful neighborhood watch program," says Tom Campion, who has been an active member for more than two decades.

Residents have been patrolling the streets of the Glendale Acres community since 1973.