The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office is watching out for people by looking for their help watching out for each other.

The Sheriff’s Office has scheduled four public meetings next week to start a new program called Community Watch.

The program’s purpose, according to Sheriff Chuck Curry, is to provide stronger and safer neighborhoods by using citizens themselves to secure their own homes and personal property.

A press release describing the program noted that during the first 10 months of this year, the Sheriff’s Office has received 1,100 reports of suspicious activity, 288 reports of physical disturbances, 240 reports of burglary, 180 reports of drug activity, 158 reports of property crimes and two reports of kidnapping.

“It’s certainly been my intent and the intent of the office to be more interactive with the citizens, and we’ve looked at some kind of program for a long time,” Curry said. “We did assist the citizens of the Canyon in implementing a program earlier this year — at their request — and felt it was an appropriate time to start doing some educational classes in various other parts of the county.”

To that end, the office will hold meetings Monday through Thursday in Whitefish, Bigfork, Kalispell and Columbia Falls to educate participants to “see it, hear it and report it” as well as push deterrence and detection as part of Community Watch.

The program will be organized with three levels of participants — residents, a block leader or coordinator and the Sheriff’s Office.

“With the economic climate, we don’t anticipate that we’re going to have more cops on the street any time soon,” Curry said. “Everybody’s trying to do more with less, with the exception of the bad guys. So we’re excited to be able to help people organize. We need the citizens’ help.”

He was quick to point out what the program was not intended to accomplish.

“Our goal is certainly not to encourage any kind of armed citizen patrols or vigilantism but to provide people the tools and knowledge to help them not to be victimized themselves and perhaps their neighbors and community members not to be victimized also,” Curry said.

In the event that willing participants don’t step forward, Curry said his office has a backup plan.

“If there’s not that interest, we certainly intend to continue to present at least educational opportunities for people and various classes to help them help us, both to keep them from becoming victims and to help us solve crimes,” he said.

The first Community Watch meeting times are scheduled to run from 7 to 9 p.m. at the following locations:

• Whitefish Middle School Auditorium — Monday, Nov. 12.

• Bigfork Middle School — Tuesday, Nov. 13.

• Columbia Falls High School — Wednesday, Nov. 14.

• Northwest Montana Association of Realtors, 110 Cooperative Way, Kalispell — Thursday, Nov. 15.