PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - Phoenix is looking to expand its gated alley pilot program across the city. The program aims at deterring crime and illegal dumping in neighborhoods. It started in the Royal Palm area after residents said a man jumped over a fence from an alley and exposed himself to young children in a backyard.

[WATCH: Phoenix looking to expand gated alley program]

“It got to the point where I didn’t feel comfortable letting my own kids play in the backyard unsupervised because of what was happening in the alleys,” Luke Bevans, a neighbor in Royal Palm, said.

In 2018, six alleys in the neighborhood were blocked off to stop loitering, drug use and illegal dumping. Now, Phoenix is looking to bring the program to all 10 districts and pay for it with $400,000 in Neighborhood Block Watch Grant funding. However, one neighbor in the Sunnyslope area was not in support.

“I don’t think it is needed. I just think it would be a waste of money," he said.

City officials said the program would not be mandatory. Each neighborhood must have support from 51% of the residents before they can apply. The Council is set to vote on the funding proposal next week.