Neighborhood Watch....San Lorenzo, California.

San Lorenzo, California—A couple of observant neighbors helped stop six suspicious teens from breaking into a house last week.

“San Lorenzo wasn’t like this, this is why everyone keeps watch, because the neighborhood has gotten so bad,” a neighbor said.

As the teenagers started to climb the fence into a backyard, two neighbors saw them and approached them with flashlights. Thinking they were the police, the teens fled in different directions. Dean Ridings, the owner of the house, heard the commotion and called the police.

Alameda County Sheriffs were able to catch only one of the fleeing suspects. He was identified by police as Reginald Foxall, 16, and was found one street away when he was apprehended and arrested. Foxall was then taken to juvenile hall, the police said.

“Everyone on the street pays attention to what is going on,” a neighbor said. He also noted a few suspicious youth had been seen walking back and forth on the street a few days before, and that he thought they were the same ones attempting to break in to the house.

Dean Ridings, the owner of the house, refused to comment when asked about the incident. San Lorenzo has about 914 property crimes and 95 violent crimes annually, making the city only 19 percent safer than other cities in the U.S, according to Neighborhood scout, a website that gives crime rates and statistics.

The Neighborhood Watch Program was established in the 1980’s and as of today 38 percent of households in U.S. neighborhoods participate in the program. On average 80 percent of all property crime happens outside of neighborhood watch areas, according to USA on Watch a website of the National Sherriff Association.