Neighbors in Beverly, on Chicago's Southwest Side, cheered when a career burglar who preyed on their residents recently was caught and convicted.

He earned an 11-year sentence, thanks in part, say community activists, to the steady presence of volunteer court watchers who sat through every one of his more than a dozen hearings and procedures.

Court watchers, or court advocates, are a program of the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) program that emphasizes community policing and neighborhood involvement as deterrents to crime.

Beverly's program, co-sponsored by the Beverly Area Planning Association, actually pre-dates the CAPS program, and was used as a model when the effort went city-wide.

"Like any other profession," says Roberta Kleinman, a retired attorney, Beverly resident and passionate court watcher, "the judicial system can get routinized. With the occasional wake-up call of people wearing badges and standing up when a case is called, that says: Don't treat this case like an ordinary run-of-the-mill felony."

In the case of convicted burglar James Schisley, advocates are certain that their efforts helped the judge decide to give him 11 years.

"Usually you are lucky if he gets four years," said Sgt. Dennis Kettering with the 22nd district. "He had been convicted two other times for burglary. When you can get the community to back the cause, it works out well."

Police can only do so much, adds Alice Collins, who manages crime and safety projects for BAPA. "They need our support because often they arrest someone and then he is back out on the street again. They see that we are invested and that makes them want to do more."

In District 22, beat 21, which includes Beverly, there probably are a dozen or so regulars who volunteer to follow particular cases. Some follow only one or two cases; Kleinman is following four. Their job is to keep track of court case hearings and to arrive bright and early, name tag on and reading material handy.

"It can get very frustrating," Kleinman said. "We get there at 9 or 9:30 a.m. and if the defense attorney has a scheduling conflict, the case is put aside for hours on end."

Does court watching deter crime? Most of the evidence is just anecdotal, but the watchers are convinced.

One of her fellow watchers was at a sentencing, said Kleinman, when the convict said he wanted to make a statement. "He apologized to the judge, the prosecutors, the victim and to the court watchers who he had noticed at every hearing. She was bowled over."

Kay Severinsen