In 1986 Sue Hotto was among the first in Fairfax County to join Neighborhood Watch. Since then she’s delved into the voluntary police force and now serves on the county’s volunteer police service, the Citizen Advisory Committee at the Franconia District Station and is the Chief’s Advisory Council chairwoman. In recent weeks, Hotto’s neighborhood, Bren Mar Park, a small community in the Alexandria portion of Fairfax, has been the scene of two crimes: a highly publicized homicide and a stabbing.
Q: Several residents said after last week’s homicide that they were concerned demographic changes were driving up crime in the area. Is that something you have witnessed?
A: It’s important to recognize that the homicide was not a random crime; she knew her attacker. But the neighborhood has undergone changes. Older residents have moved out and it’s become harder to pull some of the new people into the community. The demographics have changed. There’s a large number of Latinos now who don’t want to get involved in police work for whatever reason, and we need to pull them in. … On National Night Out, we had a huge, diverse group come out and meet police officers. By doing things like that, we can build trust. It’s a pretty quiet neighborhood still.
Q: How did you become so involved in volunteer police work?
A: I started with Neighborhood Watch soon after moving here when a neighbor knocked on the door and asked. … I was very involved in my son’s school, and after he left, I was like, “What do I do now?” And so I became increasingly involved in police work. I was among the first class to graduate from the county’s Citizen Police Academy, which was a real eye-opener.
Q: How was it eye-opening?
A: I went into it with a great respect for police officers and came out with an even greater respect. I learned things you don’t usually think about. You may call them because someone was on your grass and they may give you attitude, but they may also have come from dealing with the death of a toddler.
