With some help from police, residents of Broad Street in Norwich are forming a neighborhood watch due to concerns over registered sex offenders living in the area.
Residents said they weren’t notified of the sex offender housing at 152 Broad Street and only found out through word of mouth, or from firsthand contact with the sex offenders.
Jennifer Kampfer said one of the sex offenders approached her and her 4-year-old daughter. After that, she checked the state government’s sex offender registry and discovered the designated housing.
“That upset me very much because I thought they had guidelines to go by about not going near children,” she said. “I’ve told children that get off at this bus stop if their parents aren’t here, come right up to my house if anybody approaches them.”
Michelle Ancion, who just moved into the neighborhood, said she wishes she had done more research.
“I’m going to be more cautious,” she said. “I always watch my child, but I probably won’t let him outside by himself, or just be more careful about who’s around.”
Residents of Broad, Treadway, Warren and Spaulding streets comprise the Broad Street Neighborhood Watch, bolstered by the Norwich Police Department and its Community Policing Unit.
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The Broad Street Neighborhood Watch plans to hold its first meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Norwich Free Academy.
