Bell Atlantic Mobile Arms Neighborhood Watch Groups With Cellular Phones

DOVER, DE — Armed with cellular phones, two neighborhood watch groups in Dover have a new tool in fighting crime due to a donation by Bell Atlantic Mobile. The phones will play a vital role in the activities of both watch groups by providing direct communication with the police, making it possible to alert officers of suspicious criminal activity immediately.

"These phones will enable us to alert officers fast and efficiently in case of an emergency," said David Dickey, a spokesman for the Capitol Park Community Watch, a crime watch group consisting of 45 people.

Kelly Dare, spokesman for the Canterbury Neighborhood Watch Group, accepted a cellular phone on behalf of his 12-member group. "We're so grateful for this donation. It's comforting to know that our neighborhood will now be safer."

The donation is part of Bell Atlantic Mobile's "Wireless at Work" initiative which makes cellular phone donations to charitable organizations. According to Stephen Giffen, manager of Bell Atlantic Mobile's Dover communications store, "reaching out to the community and playing an active role in promoting safety is very important to us. We're happy to make a difference and to make it easier for the watch groups to do their jobs."

Bell Atlantic Mobile is the largest wireless service provider on the East Coast and the second largest in the United States. The company owns and operates the most extensive network in the East, covering 111,000 square miles, and the largest chain of wireless retail outlets offering a full range of wireless personal communications service, including voice, data and paging. Based in Bedminster, NJ, Bell Atlantic Mobile has 5 million customers and 7,000 employees in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and, through a separate subsidiary, in the Southwest. The company is the chief wireless subsidiary of the new Bell Atlantic, formed through the merger of Bell Atlantic and NYNEX corporations.

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