For too long, residents in the area of Holy Innocents Church in Long Beach have been terrorized by the rampant drug dealing and crime going on in their neighborhood. On March 10 the parish called together community members, police officials and religious leaders to address the problems.

"We have a terrible problem with robbery, especially in our Hispanic communities," said Claretian Father Ron Alves, spokesperson for the Greater Long Beach Interfaith Community Organization. "On payday they are robbed of everything even their shoes."

In order to address the problems Holy Innocents has formed a faith-based block watch to monitor activity going on in the neighborhood. Once a month they meet at the church to share information with the police.

Wednesday's night meeting was attended by hundreds who wanted to see if the Long Beach Police Department had lived up to its promises to cracking down on crime and closing down known drug locations.

"This was an accountability meeting," said Father Alves who noted that many in this immigrant community have a great distrust of the police based on their experiences in their home countries.

Many see working with the police as a great risk, he explained, and it is important that they see positive results from their work.

Long Beach Police Commander Keith Kilmer reported that based on information from the neighborhood watch, the police department has beefed up patrols in the area. In the last month, police have arrested 15 people on various narcotics charges in the immediate area around the church.