APP: A year ago this month, it was a respected rabbi arrested and charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, a charge later dropped in a plea bargain. Six weeks ago, it was a young woman abducted and sexually assaulted, a crime for which no arrests have yet been made.

And a month ago, it was a well-known private school teacher, who was charged with simple assault of a teenager, though many in the tight-knit Orthodox Jewish community say he was simply defending himself.

The recent history between the Lakewood Police Department and the Orthodox enclave that defines the township is the reason many community members now say they’ve lost faith in the cops.

“There’s a total lack of confidence in the Police Department in terms of their ability to do what’s referred to as community policing,” said Rabbi Moshe Zev Weisberg, a member of the Vaad, an influential group of Orthodox leaders. “Confidence is at an all-time low.”

That lack of confidence has led to Shomrim.

A Hebrew word that roughly translates to “watchers,” the nascent group is a neighborhood watch, complete with a start-up Web site and a hotline for residents to call. Its burgeoning presence is an ode to the growing disconnect between the Police Department and many of the township’s 6,000 Orthodox families.

“Everyone’s scared,” said Aaron Kugielsky, 24, a Lakewood resident and one of Shomrim’s organizers. “People stay home, especially girls.”

The Vaad has not publicly endorsed Shomrim, but the fact that it’s listening indicates the level of frustration with the police department.

The question is whether Shomrim will serve as a bridge to bring police and the community together or be a wedge that keeps them apart.

Privately, some township and community leaders are wary of what the neighborhood watch could morph into. They fear rogue groups of young men who, convinced police officers are of no help, try to solve situations themselves.

Chaim Rubin and Kugielsky stood on a crowded street corner in Boro Park, N.Y., the brick-faced building of the 66th precinct behind them and a glimpse of Lakewood’s future before them.

The Lakewood residents ambled into the precinct house and straight up to the captain’s office. They chatted a few minutes about Boro Park’s Shomrim, a civic watch program that has been in this section of Brooklyn for at least 15 years and has teamed the neighborhood’s large Orthodox population with the police.

Shomrim members in Boro Park have police-issued identification badges and a built-in trust level with police.

“Shomrim understands their role here,” said Capt. Peter De-Blasio, the commanding officer of the 66th precinct.

As Shomrim launches in Lakewood, the community’s interest has been piqued.

But Rubin doesn’t understand why anyone would be concerned. He often quotes the National Sheriff’s Association, which encourages neighborhood watches as a way to supplement law enforcement.

“If we work hand-in-hand with the Police Department,” Rubin said, “they wouldn’t allow us to become vigilantes.”

Rubin said he believes his group could soothe tensions and aid the police department.

“It’s all communication,” Rubin added. “I think it’s how the Police Department paints the picture to the outside world.”

The local picture is muddled, for now.

Tensions in the township are high, especially after the recent simple assault charge filed against Elchonon Zimmerman.

A private school teacher, Zimmerman was charged with assaulting a 15-year-old black youth who cut through private property on Lawrence Avenue. Police officials say when they arrived at the scene May 17, Zimmerman was kneeling on Jamarr Dickerson’s back.

Dickerson has told officials from the Ocean County/Lakewood chapter of the NAACP that a group of men also ran out of a local synagogue and yelled racial slurs.

The NAACP called the case a bias crime, but investigators from Lakewood and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office say they cannot prove anyone said the epithets.

Still, a Township Committee meeting last month was canceled after rumors large groups of Jews and blacks would attend to confront each other. Mayor Meir Lichtenstein declined to explain the cancelation, but township sources say the fear of conflict was a reason.

Then, at the following committee meeting, Warren A. Sherard, president of the NAACP, accused township leaders of having a double standard for police services and questioned why police are not working harder to find the men accused of the racial slurs.

“The NAACP continues to insist this was a bias crime,” Sherard said. “The fact that other law enforcement agencies refuse to step up to the plate and call it what it is will not change our message.”

Lakewood Public Safety Director Al Peters said it is difficult to reduce tensions because black community members feel the Orthodox community has received special treatment because no one was charged with yelling racial slurs.

On the other side, Orthodox community members question why Zimmerman was made to take off his yarmulke, a traditional Jewish head covering, for police pictures.

Many in the Jewish community are also frustrated and angry the department has made no arrests six weeks after a 20-year-old woman was abducted from outside the TrimGym Fitness Center on Route 9, sexually assaulted and then returned the next morning.

The lack of arrests comes as community members have funded a $50,000 reward.

“Neither community is going to be happy,” Peters said. “But the reality is I can’t overcome that. Their perception of what needs to be done is a false expectation.”

Peters is a retired major from the State Police. His career didn’t focus on local leaders and small-town relationships � until Lakewood. Now, he is the face of what some see as an inept police force. Peters said the department � which he praised for handling the abduction and Zimmerman investigations properly � can always work to improve community relations.

“It’s an enormously charged situation,” he said. “People need time to calm down.”

Meanwhile, Shomrim continues to build a name for itself. The group’s hotline is well-publicized in the Orthodox community and Rubin said his group already has more than 30 members, connected with walkie-talkies and cell phones.

Peters remains dubious about how the group will work because he has never been contacted by a representative of the organization. Rubin says that is not true and that, through intermediaries, Peters has shown reticence to meet with Shomrim.

“It has the potential to be a great thing as long as it adheres to the neighborhood watch idea,” said Lakewood Committeeman Raymond G. Coles. “Watching being the key idea. What we can’t have is people getting involved in the mix of those situations.”

Rubin said his group has no plans to physically confront people. Shomrim has no set patrol schedules and members will act only as neighborhood sentinels. He emphasized his group’s role is to be a service to the community � anyone can call the hotline at (732) 901-7600 � and to call the police quickly when there is a problem…..