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Burglaries. Robberies. Assaults. Aspen Hill resident Dawn Doscher decided that she had had enough with all of the crime in Aspen Hill.

Doscher, along with other members of the Aspen Hill Civic Association and Montgomery County Police Department's 4th District, have teamed up to form a Neighborhood Watch group for Aspen Hill. The first training session will take place at 7 p.m. Monday at the Aspen Hill Library meeting room.

"The police need people to work with them, and we would be the extra eyes and ears of the local police force," Doscher said.

Officer Sharif Hidayat, community relations officer for the 4th District, which includes Aspen Hill, Olney and Wheaton, among other communities, said the training session will provide information to residents on what is needed to maintain a Neighborhood Watch group and what they should report to police.

"It's basically how to organize, developing listservs and phone trees, explaining to them the reality of people burning out, and how to make it a shared responsibility," Hidayat said. "The training session will also advise residents what is or what is not suspicious, and what kinds of information the police want."

Neighborhood Watch was founded by the National Sheriffs' Association in 1972 after an increase in crime in the late 1960s heightened the need for a crime prevention initiative focused on residential areas and involving residents, according to its website.

Police departments across the county have adopted the program.

Doscher said she was prompted to start a Neighborhood Watch group after the May 18 meeting of the Aspen Hill Civic Association. She said she was alarmed when an elderly resident noted 13 crimes had occurred in the woman's neighborhood between April and May.

From late February to May, police reported 15 residential burglaries in Aspen Hill that they believe were connected to the same person or group of people.

Hidayat, who had attended the meeting, said police would continue to follow up on the crimes and suggested that residents start a Neighborhood Watch group.

Doscher said she approached Hidayat after the meeting and they discussed the idea. Doscher said she was first asked to read and study manuals on the National Sheriffs' Association website, a nonprofit organization that provides training and resources for law enforcement officials and residents in the area of criminal justice.

Doscher was told that a group of Aspen Hill residents had tried to start a Neighborhood Watch almost 10 years ago, but the group disbanded because of low membership and community interest.

A Neighborhood Watch group would provide a strong support network in Aspen Hill, particularly among elderly residents, Doscher said.

"Some people are of the age where they don't have the physical ability to get in and out and about," she said. "This will make it easier, and help us to be alert and to know our surroundings, and know who lives in the homes close to us."

Doscher said one of the first goals of the group is to obtain signs. She had seen one Neighborhood Watch sign on Independence Street from the group that formed and disbanded a decade ago.

"At least we should make wise the people who are trying to steal and destroy and rob and so on, and give them some indication that this place is under surveillance," Doscher said.

Hidayat said police depend on residents for help in calling in and reporting suspicious activities.

"There are a lot of times when we've solved cases because citizens have spoken up. It happens all the time," he said.

Members of the Aspen Hill Civic Association are supportive of Doscher's efforts, and have been assisting her with publicity of the training session.

"I think it'll be great just having these neighborhood blocks sharing observations and trends with their neighbors and sharing tips on how you can prevent crimes on your own property," said Alexandra Minckler, president of the Aspen Hill Civic Association. "It's a safe preventive measure and a benefit for people for their own properties."

Minckler said neighbors can protect themselves and their homes is to stop deliveries of their newspaper and bring in their trash cans when they are on vacation, and not leave their doors open or unlocked during the daytime.

Residents should not put themselves in harm's way when reporting a crime, Hidayat said.

"We definitely don't want vigilantism," he said. "It's just being aware of what's going on in your community and knowing when to report something."

Neighborhood Watch groups are beneficial because they build strong relationships between the community and the police force, and they allow community members to connect better with each other, Hidayat said.

-From late February to May, police reported 15 residential burglaries in Aspen Hill that they believe were connected to the same person or group of people. "We have great leads on this one, and we're confident that it will lead to an arrest," said Montgomery County Police Officer Sharif Hidayat.

-In May and June, county police arrested five men that they say were involved in two group robberies in Aspen Hill. The first incident on May 5 at 10:05 p.m., caught on a surveillance video, showed five men beating and robbing another man in an apartment stairwell in the 13000 block of Georgia Avenue. Police said the victim had broken ribs, bruises and cuts from the beating.

-The second incident occurred on May 15 at 11:20 p.m., about a half-mile away from the first group robbery. Police said a 22-year-old man was walking on Connecticut Avenue near Georgia Avenue when he was approached by a man who took his hat and a small amount of cash. The victim tried to retrieve his property, but fled when the assailant was joined by four other men who chased the victim until he was able to stop a motorist for help. Police arrested three men that night.

-On June 13, a 26-year-old woman was sexually assaulted by two men near the intersection of Veirs Mill and Aspen Hill roads. Police said the woman was forced off the public road into a wooded area surrounding Parkland Local Park.

-Park Police charged three Rockville High School students with robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery and two other students with conspiracy to commit robbery after another juvenile said he was robbed of his iPod by five people on June 15 near Rock Creek Regional Park. The students are charged as juveniles.

The first training session for the new Neighborhood Watch group in Aspen Hill will be held at 7 p.m. Monday at the Aspen Hill Library meeting room, 4407 Aspen Hill Road. Children 7 years old and above are also welcome.