On dark autumn evenings, foreign criminals have been transporting vehicles and motorboats across the Estonia-Latvia border. For instance, ATVs stolen recently from Viljandi reached Lithuania just a few hours later.

Thanks to a GPS device, Lithuanian police were able to apprehend the thief in that specific case. Viljandi Police Chief Margus Sass noted that reports of various thefts and break-ins in the area began to increase at the start of August.

"There's an annual wave of invasions from abroad. Last year, we had the same issue with home break-ins. Criminals from Latvia, Lithuania and even our own seem to be more active now, I believe," Sass said.

On Tuesday evening, around twenty men and women gathered in the parking lot of the Abja Konsum store to make plans on how they could improve security in their area themselves.

"We need to find people from Abja-Paluoja and Karksi-Nuia to serve as coordinators so that there's better communication between locals in those areas. Essentially, we're talking about night patrols. Of course, it's all voluntary and people will use their own resources. There's no obligation, but as you can see, there's interest," said Tarmo Tõnisson, a Karksi-Nuia resident and leader of the Night Watch (Öine Vahtkond).

Ivo, a resident of Abja-Paluoja, said he feels a bit like Sherlock Holmes and wants to contribute by joining the patrol.

"Personally, the wave of thefts hasn't affected me. I haven't been hit because I live in the middle of town. But I have friends and acquaintances who have been. When autumn comes, people move away from their summer homes, and when they return, their equipment is gone – no lawnmowers or garden tractors. It can really ruin your mood. This is a problem every autumn," Ivo said.

A voluntary patrol group had operated in Mulgimaa (Viljandi County) about a decade ago under the same leadership. According to Tõnisson, the patrols helped to reduce the wave of thefts back then, but he admits that there are lessons to learn from past mistakes.

"The issue last time was that our communication wasn't working. We ended up following each other and sometimes interfering with each other's patrols. To avoid that happening again, we need to make sure we aren't disrupting each other," Tõnisson explained.

"I emphasized that our goal is to have everything well-coordinated and clearly directed. It will make it easier for us to use the situation to our advantage and share information. It should be a two-way street – us passing information to them and vice versa. It's a great initiative. Every citizen-led initiative that arises from free will is the most powerful force there is," said Police Chief Margus Sass.

Currently, the group is calling itself the "Night Watch," but the police chief suggested they consider changing the name.

"It could create mixed feelings. There are definitely softer and more fitting names that better capture the situation. My advice would be to choose a name that's a bit gentler and more secure-sounding," Sass said.

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