By Justin Creech
Staff Writer
Thursday, February 16, 2012

The Fort Belvoir’s Community Watch initiative and its residents’ willingness to take care of each other have been tested by several incidents since the start of the New Year.

“You can see that it’s starting to turn,” said Timothy Wolfe, Belvoir Police Chief, of the community’s commitment to the Community Watch idea. Post residents have pitched in to help law enforcement and report suspicious activities.

On New Year’s Day, the wife of an Army Soldier stationed at Belvoir was reported missing. She was found, unharmed, the following day.

On Jan. 25, residents in Dogue Creek Village reported a man, who was claiming to be a photographer, was handing out balloons to children who live in the village.

The community passed those tests with flying colors.

“When the young lady was missing,” Wolfe continued, “this whole community came together. They are really starting to partner with law enforcement.”

Around 100 Soldiers volunteered to form search groups to help locate the missing person the night she was reported missing while the Belvoir Enlisted Spouses Club brought coffee, water, sandwiches and chips to the Community Center the next day.

In another incident, Dogue Creek residents reported a suspicious person taking pictures in the area of a playground in Dogue Creek Village on Jan. 25 to Fort Belvoir Directorate of Emergency Services.

Within minutes, Belvoir Police were on scene and within 30 minutes members of Belvoir’s Criminal Investigations team were also on scene.

Law Enforcement officials spoke with the resident who reported the incident as well as the children who had interacted directly with the person of interest.

On Thursday Jan. 26, Belvoir Police identified the individual as a resident of the post and an amateur photographer. Police interviewed him to confirm he was taking photographs of trees, deer, water fowl, and other nature scenes in the area of Dogue Creek. In reviewing the photos on his camera, police confirmed they included only images described above, and monuments from around the local Washington, D.C., area.

The cooperation and willingness of the Dogue Creek residents to work with Belvoir Law Enforcement officials helped bring a quick resolution to the situation.

“In order for us to be successful, the community has to be willing to report it, trust us and be willing to provide the information,” said John Kibler, DES Chief of Criminal Investigations. “Otherwise, we would’ve been (in Dogue Creek Village) for days, maybe, until we saw the guy and maybe it was him and maybe it wasn’t without the description.”

Kibler added, “The community is our eyes out there and without them telling us what’s going on, our jobs can very difficult. They’re the first line in their own security.”

Residents on post should not hesitate to report any incident or person they feel is suspicious as any kind of information can be beneficial.

“People call and say, ‘Well, this is what I think’ ” said Wolfe. “That’s what we want. Tell us what you think you are seeing.”

Neighborhood Watch programs can also be beneficial in reducing suspicious activity as well as building community relationships.

Woodlawn Village started a Neighborhood Watch program over the summer and the results have been positive.

“In the last three weeks there have been no reported incidents in our neighborhood,” said Tiffany Benson, Woodlawn Village resident. “The program has also kept us familiar with who our neighbors are. We had a request for representation at the bus stop in the morning because children were acting up.”

The efforts of the community residents are important in building good community relations, but law enforcement officials must make sure they are reporting back to the community and reporting the necessary information.

“We need to make sure we are providing the necessary feedback to the community,” Kibler said. “So, they understand we are doing our jobs and we are trying to protect them to the best of our ability.”