AUGUSTA, GA (WFXG) -
All his life, Tony Price has strolled along the streets of the Harrisburg community.
"You used to be able to walk down the street and not worry about anything," Price said.
Price said these days, the neighborhood is infested with drugs, prostitution and violence.
"I see a lot of abandoned houses that are used for drug dealing that need to be torn down," Price said.
Price is not the only Harrisburg resident with these concerns. These problems led the Harrisburg neighborhood association to start patrolling the streets in their community. They report crime tips to the Richmond County Sheriff's Office.
"We hope that by doing these ride-arounds we would be able to help provide intelligence to the Sheriff's Office; let them know where the hot spots are," said Phillip Williams, president of the Harrisburg neighborhood association.
A few neighbors said, they think this job should be left up to the police. But the neighborhood association's focus is one Sheriff-elect Richard Roundtree promoted in his campaign for office.
"We absolutely love the interest that they have, and the enthusiasm," Lt. Roundtree said. "You know we just need to get together, train the people correctly so we can do it safely, and then we'll start seeing positive results very quickly."
Lt. Roundtree says he hopes more people will get involved in their neighborhoods to make Richmond County safer. It's a change residents who plan to stay in Harrisburg welcome.
"Harrisburg will always be my home…always," Price said. "No matter what, I'll never leave," Price said.
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