Guardian Angels may come to Sharpstown

The Guardian Angels, the red-bereted citizen patrol formed in 1979 to make the Bronx safer for residents, may be coming to Houston to patrol Sharpstown, the Chronicle reports. Sharpstown resident Jeff Schmidt called the Angels because he was tired of crime in his neighborhood:

Gunshots and burglaries happen almost daily and the police can't seem to control it, he said, adding that several residents have considered selling their home because the crime is so rampant.

''I lived in New York and saw how they helped clean up New York," said Schmidt, a disabled veteran. "I thought if the Guardian Angels and city officials here worked together, some good could come out of it."

He has started a petition, at the request of the group, to get neighborhood support and has about 30 signatures so far.

Curtis Silwa, a former McDonald's night manager in a crime-ridden section of the Bronx, formed the Angels to patrol the area's streets and subways. The group has grown to 5,000 members in 41 chapters in the U.S. and others in England, Brazil, Canada and Japan. Members don't carry firearms — their weapon is community empowerment. In addition to patrols, they conduct educational programs for teens.

Sharpstown may be just the area for the Guardian Angels — even though there's been interest in reviving the neighborhood, violennt crime and homicides have been on the rise lately across southwest Houston. An Angels official will visit Sharpstown on Jan. 17 to see if a local chapter will work.