[media-credit name=’RAY PFEIFFER/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]University of Wisconsin fraternity members and the Madison Police Department kicked off their new neighborhood watch program Friday in an effort to keep the Langdon Street area safer.

Madison Police Officer Tony Fiore, who patrols Langdon Street and whose combined effort with the Greek system jump-started the program, said there are currently nine organizations involved.

Each Thursday, Friday and Saturday, there will be several groups of fraternity students patrolling the street to make sure no one is walking alone and people get home safely, Fiore added.

"I'm not aware of any groups immediately in the campus community that do this type of neighborhood watch … and I'm not aware of a lot of other universities or campuses that are doing something like this," he said. "But I think it's great — it's an awesome plan and nothing but good things should come of it."

Drew Willert, president of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, said the program has only been in the works for a few weeks but is already seeing a positive response from the Greek community, MPD, UWPD and UW Chancellor John Wiley.

"One of the awesome things about this [plan] is it wasn't just pointing fingers," Willert said. "We really worked to establish a common purpose and shared goal."

Though the focus of the plan so far has been on fraternities, Willert noted they are looking to get sororities and any other interested organizations involved. He said they have already been collaborating with SAFEwalk to promote and encourage the service.

If fraternity members on patrol duty see people walking alone, Fiore added, they will let them know about SAFEwalk or SAFEride and offer their phone numbers, giving the SAFE services more business.

Brian Conger, a representative of UW's SAFE nighttime services, said the Langdon Street plan fits in with SAFE Walk's overall ideals and goals.

"I think we can work together and make this campus better," Conger said.

Yet Fiore also said some circulating concerns from the UW community are that fraternity members will be replacing police officers or trying to do their job. The idea of fraternity members trying to enforce the law is another common concern Fiore said he heard.

"Some folks are under the impression that we're asking students to do our job or … to be out here and be an extra set of police — that's really not what we're asking," Fiore said. "We're not trying to duplicate any services that are being provided."

And Alex Sheridan, president of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, added that the purpose of the plan is not to employ community members to protect pedestrians, but to make an effort to keep people safe and "promote awareness."

The program is also an opportunity for the Langdon Street community to take responsibility for what is going on in its neighborhood, he added.

"No one should feel scared walking home at night," Sheridan said, "and no one should have to look over their own shoulder when they're walking back to their houses."