Angelo West lives in Centreville and is the coordinator of Newgate Neighborhood Watch. West, 46, served in the Army for 13 years and now works with others in his community to protect the neighborhood’s residents.
How did you get involved with Newgate Neighborhood Watch?
I moved here in 2001. When I moved in, there were some neighbors across the street who were partiers, and I got sick of it. I complained about it at a meeting, and one of the guys there encouraged me to join the neighborhood watch and that they were looking for someone to be the coordinator. I became the coordinator in 2002.
What does the watch do in the community?
We’re kind of undercover. The five people that work with me look out for [suspicious] things and report them. I work very closely with the Fairfax County Police Department and get reports of what’s happening. I know what’s going on. I think we’re pretty successful. I think by me being in the military [it helps] because I’m always alert.
What is one of your most exciting stories?
We have a neighborhood pool, and we had a lifeguard who worked down there. The lifeguard was young and had his buddies come to the pool. Sometimes they would be down there and it looked like a gang. I took it upon myself to go down there and let everybody know who I was. Quickly, everything changed. After I called the police a few times, things just stopped happening [there].
What help does the watch need?
I’m trying to recruit more people. Whenever I go down to the pool I try to encourage people to join. The police department also tries to get people involved. It’s hard; a lot of people are scared to do neighborhood watch. We do what we can do for now.
