"We are tired of being afraid," proclaims the leaflet for Dead Serious Inc., an anti-crime group here.

ParoleWatch was organized by the anti-crime group Take Back New York, and grew out of the group's grass-roots efforts to block the parole of a convicted murderer.

Mr. Crosson said his proposal was based on a similar one advanced in August by the Citizens' Crime Commission, a business-sponsored anti-crime group.

It seemed similar to pipe bombs used in warfare between drug gangs and anti-crime groups led by Muslim clerics in the mixed-race Cape Flats neighborhood.

Those bombs are believed to be the work of People Against Gangsterism and Drugs, a militant anti-crime group founded by Muslim clerics.

There are at least three different anti-crime groups here, and organizers say criminal justice issues can no longer be depicted simply as black versus white.

Mr. Lynch said the Dinkins administration would also seek help from religious leaders in organizing anti-crime groups.

Recalling his efforts to set up anti-crime groups three years ago, he said: "Before, there were hardly any men in the neighborhood watch groups.

Batiste once drove a FedEx truck in Chicago and was a member of the volunteer Guardian Angels, an anti-crime group.

Turning the tables, as he often does, Mr. Koch asked the reporter how she would feel if approached by members of the civilian anti-crime group accompanied by a patrol dog.