Residents alarmed by a helicopter circling Sharon, Farrell and other parts of the Shenango Valley on Friday evening had nothing to fear -- unless they were committing crimes.

The helicopter was part of a routine Weed and Seed operation aimed at cracking down on drug and street crime, state police said.

Weed and Seed is a federally funded program that pays for patrols in a targeted 17-block area of Sharon and Farrell.