Residents of Hollywood's North and South Lake communities are fed up with crime and refuse to take it anymore.

''We all have much in common. It's a wonderful place to live, a safe place, and all our dogs bark. But there are some things we're seeing lately that we don't like,'' said Ken Gottlieb, former state representative and current state Senate candidate.

The neighborhoods, straddling Hollywood Boulevard east of U.S. 1 to the Intracoastal Waterway, reported 18 car burglaries and eight home burglaries in five weeks.

About 120 neighbors got together last week, packing the first floor of Gottlieb's spacious home. On every chair, sofa and stair step sat concerned citizens who rallied to regain their sense of security.

Hollywood Police Assistant Chief Chad Wagner attended with police Maj. Jimmy Jones and Capts. Tony Rode, Joe Healy and Pablo Venegas, who heads up the Neighborhood Services Unit.

Also on hand were Hollywood Assistant Manager Richard Lemack, several members of the Hollywood Lakes Section Civic Association and the North Lake Crime Watch representative, Jeff Barrett.

''How many of you know about Crime Watch?'' asked Lemack at the start of the meeting.

Only three hands were raised.

''One of the biggest problems we have [with fighting crime] is communication. . . . A good start to creating a safer neighborhood is joining Crime Watch,'' Lemack said.

He urged residents to become familiar with faces that belong in their neighborhoods, watch for cars that drive slowly through streets, keep an eye on people walking the neighborhood looking at houses, set their home alarms, and call the police to report all suspicious activity.

Deterrents also include keeping up the appearance of daily human presence in the home: Don't leave newspapers on the lawn, put trash cans away, retrieve mail every day.

Other ways to prevent becoming a target include locking all doors, including sliding glass doors, turning on spotlights at night, removing valuables from cars, and keeping car doors locked at all times.

Barrett said four residents signed up Monday to become Crime Watch block captains, charged with disseminating information to immediate neighbors. Thirty-five other residents also signed up to become organization members.

Barrett said participation is as simple as becoming eyes and ears for the police, but residents can expand their contributions by signing up to help more.

The city offers a Citizens Police Academy for people to learn more about community policing, and it offers training for the Crime Watch Mobile Patrol, when community service vehicles are used by residents to tour neighborhoods and reports their suspicions to police.

''The only way Crime Watch works is if the entire community is involved and people are made aware. Numbers make a difference,'' Barrett said.

For information about Hollywood's Crime Watch program, call the Hollywood Police Public Affairs Department at 954-967-4314 or visit www.hollywoodpolice.org and click on Special Units.