Some neighborhood watch programs are just getting started and have yet to create an organized structure. Others are set up with a focus on bringing a community together, with less attention paid to the details of policing. Led by Beth Velkoff, the neighborhood watch program in Fairfax Station’s 500-home Barrington Community is a prime example of an organized group that coordinates regular patrols.
How is it structured?
Barrington is divided into 12 zones covering about 40 homes. The zones are headed by a block captain who coordinates with 10 patrollers. Each zone is assigned one month a year to patrol the entire community.
What does the coordinator do?
The coordinator is a liaison between the police department and the block captains, and sends information from the police to the captains. The coordinator also maintains a master list of block captains and patrollers and works with the captains to develop patrols that cover areas where crime has been reported.
Beyond organizing patrols, do the captains play any other roles?
The captains provide residents with information that’s passed from the police through the coordinator. It’s also their job to recruit new members and maintain lists of patrollers.
Where do the patrollers fit in?
They’re the eyes. Everyone attends a training session with the police. They’re responsible for patrolling with a partner for one week each year and while doing that they record any suspicious activity. The patrols are done while either walking or driving. It takes about 120 patrollers for it to work really well and right now there’s just a few less than that.
