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Community helps Sheriff’s Office fight crime - Look out criminals, Loudouners are out to get you – all 312,000 of them.
Posted by:
McGruff
()
Date: September 26, 2011 10:09AM
Community helps Sheriff’s Office fight crime
Friday, Sep. 23 by Matt Vecchio
http://www.loudountimes.com/index.php/news/article/community_helps_sheriffs_office_fight_crime123/
Look out criminals, Loudouners are out to get you – all 312,000 of them.
In the last several weeks, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office has continuously been involving the community more in cases to help identify or catch criminals, and it works.
“We frequently reach out to the community to assist with investigations,” Sheriff’s Office spokesman Kraig Troxell said. “Over the last few weeks we asked for the public’s assistance in several cases where we either had photographs of unknown suspects or were looking for known suspects who were wanted on local charges. Using local media, social media and Alert Loudoun greatly enhances our ability to reach out to the community.”
Currently, there are more than 60,000 people signed up to the Alert Loudoun service, which utilizes email and text messages to warn the community of traffic closures, states of emergency and wanted criminals. The agency has a large additional following on social media giants Facebook and Twitter.
“This outreach to the community often leads to the identity of a suspect; as was true in the case of a photograph we released last week regarding a suspect involved in a series of larcenies from vehicles,” Troxell said. “That one photograph led to the identity of a total of four suspects.”
In that case, the alleged culprit had left a picture on a stolen camera of himself burning a $1 bill. Once the camera was recovered, authorities were able to circulate that photo and catch those believed to be responsible.
Omar C. Cortez-Ayala was charged with grand larceny, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and two counts of receiving stolen property. Melvin V. Cortez was charged with petit larceny, grand larceny and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. A 16-year-old male is facing two counts of petit larceny, three counts of grand larceny and distribution of stolen property and a 15-year-old female is facing two counts of petit larceny and two counts of grand larceny.
In another case, assistance from the public helped identify a suspect involved in a July 15 burglary of an Ashburn home. Demone E. Robinson, 22, of Silver Spring, was taken into custody on Sept. 13 in Alexandria after a photo of him trying to cash a stolen check was circulated to the public and he was identified.
For the Sheriff’s Office, the strategy to use the community is pretty straight-forward.
“The residents of Loudoun County know their neighborhoods best and know what is out of place,” Troxell said. “By keeping the public up-to-date on the latest crime and crime trends in the community, it allows members of the public to report anything they believe is out of the ordinary in their neighborhood. The information provided by the public in some cases can be crucial to an investigation; this is why we encourage residents to contact the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office if they see anything suspicious.”
Loudoun Sheriff Steve Simpson has made community policing a critical part of the agency’s strategy since taking over in 1996, a trend that continues today as he faces re-election on Nov. 8.
“Engaging the community and the relationship of the community and law enforcement is huge,” Simpson said. “That’s a large part of why crime is down is Loudoun.”
Part of the increased involvement in the community lately may be credited to some of Loudoun’s high-profile cases throughout the last few years.
On Aug. 24, Jaime Ayala was sentenced to life in prison for his part in the brutal 2009 Lansdowne attack on William and Cynthia Bennett. Willaim Bennett died from the attack and Cynthia Bennett barely survived. Ayala was just the driver, but two other men, Darwin Bowman, of Annandale, and Anthony Roberts, of Middleburg, are suspects in the case who have yet to face trial.
In the Lansdowne assault, a Lansdowne resident’s call to police about a suspicious van allowed law enforcement to reach the scene quickly enough to move Cynthia Bennett for medical care. This quick thinking likely saved her life, according to law enforcement, and the identification of the white van used in the assault later proved pivotal for investigators.
But, aside from that big case that’s often on many minds throughout the county, crime is on the downswing.
“We believe the continuing decrease in Loudoun’s crime rate is a direct reflection of how involved the community is in their neighborhood,” Troxell said. “It is clear from the number of subscribers to Alert Loudoun that Loudoun residents are eager to learn more about their community through the use of technology. When the system was developed in 2003, Loudoun residents were quick to sign up and the number of subscribers has continued to grow over the years. It has been a goal of the Sheriff’s Office to find more ways to reach out to the community. We believe a well-informed community is a safer community.”
Friday, Sep. 23 by Matt Vecchio
http://www.loudountimes.com/index.php/news/article/community_helps_sheriffs_office_fight_crime123/
Look out criminals, Loudouners are out to get you – all 312,000 of them.
In the last several weeks, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office has continuously been involving the community more in cases to help identify or catch criminals, and it works.
“We frequently reach out to the community to assist with investigations,” Sheriff’s Office spokesman Kraig Troxell said. “Over the last few weeks we asked for the public’s assistance in several cases where we either had photographs of unknown suspects or were looking for known suspects who were wanted on local charges. Using local media, social media and Alert Loudoun greatly enhances our ability to reach out to the community.”
Currently, there are more than 60,000 people signed up to the Alert Loudoun service, which utilizes email and text messages to warn the community of traffic closures, states of emergency and wanted criminals. The agency has a large additional following on social media giants Facebook and Twitter.
“This outreach to the community often leads to the identity of a suspect; as was true in the case of a photograph we released last week regarding a suspect involved in a series of larcenies from vehicles,” Troxell said. “That one photograph led to the identity of a total of four suspects.”
In that case, the alleged culprit had left a picture on a stolen camera of himself burning a $1 bill. Once the camera was recovered, authorities were able to circulate that photo and catch those believed to be responsible.
Omar C. Cortez-Ayala was charged with grand larceny, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and two counts of receiving stolen property. Melvin V. Cortez was charged with petit larceny, grand larceny and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. A 16-year-old male is facing two counts of petit larceny, three counts of grand larceny and distribution of stolen property and a 15-year-old female is facing two counts of petit larceny and two counts of grand larceny.
In another case, assistance from the public helped identify a suspect involved in a July 15 burglary of an Ashburn home. Demone E. Robinson, 22, of Silver Spring, was taken into custody on Sept. 13 in Alexandria after a photo of him trying to cash a stolen check was circulated to the public and he was identified.
For the Sheriff’s Office, the strategy to use the community is pretty straight-forward.
“The residents of Loudoun County know their neighborhoods best and know what is out of place,” Troxell said. “By keeping the public up-to-date on the latest crime and crime trends in the community, it allows members of the public to report anything they believe is out of the ordinary in their neighborhood. The information provided by the public in some cases can be crucial to an investigation; this is why we encourage residents to contact the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office if they see anything suspicious.”
Loudoun Sheriff Steve Simpson has made community policing a critical part of the agency’s strategy since taking over in 1996, a trend that continues today as he faces re-election on Nov. 8.
“Engaging the community and the relationship of the community and law enforcement is huge,” Simpson said. “That’s a large part of why crime is down is Loudoun.”
Part of the increased involvement in the community lately may be credited to some of Loudoun’s high-profile cases throughout the last few years.
On Aug. 24, Jaime Ayala was sentenced to life in prison for his part in the brutal 2009 Lansdowne attack on William and Cynthia Bennett. Willaim Bennett died from the attack and Cynthia Bennett barely survived. Ayala was just the driver, but two other men, Darwin Bowman, of Annandale, and Anthony Roberts, of Middleburg, are suspects in the case who have yet to face trial.
In the Lansdowne assault, a Lansdowne resident’s call to police about a suspicious van allowed law enforcement to reach the scene quickly enough to move Cynthia Bennett for medical care. This quick thinking likely saved her life, according to law enforcement, and the identification of the white van used in the assault later proved pivotal for investigators.
But, aside from that big case that’s often on many minds throughout the county, crime is on the downswing.
“We believe the continuing decrease in Loudoun’s crime rate is a direct reflection of how involved the community is in their neighborhood,” Troxell said. “It is clear from the number of subscribers to Alert Loudoun that Loudoun residents are eager to learn more about their community through the use of technology. When the system was developed in 2003, Loudoun residents were quick to sign up and the number of subscribers has continued to grow over the years. It has been a goal of the Sheriff’s Office to find more ways to reach out to the community. We believe a well-informed community is a safer community.”