The Northwest Area Command is instituting a new program that will strengthen the ties between our officers and the community. Each Neighborhood Watch Block Captain will have a police officer assigned to them. The officer will be your liaison with the Northwest Area Commander and his supervisory staff. The block captain will be provided the officer’s email address in order to communicate neighborhood block issues to the officer. If the block captain cannot communicate by email, the block captain should contact the Northwest Area Command Substation and leave a message for the officer. The assigned liaison officer will respond and discuss your concerns.

There are a few guidelines that the block captain should follow:

• If the issue of concern is currently occurring, the block captain should contact the police dispatcher at 242-COPS.
• If the issue of concern is currently occurring and is of an emergency nature, such as any major crime in progress or any life threatening situation, the block captain should call 911.
• The block captain should contact the liaison officer about issues that are ongoing in the neighborhood block, such as abandoned home in disrepair, speeding, acts of vandalism, and any other issues that are ongoing and causing a disturbance in their block.
• The officer will reach out at least once a month via email or phone call (once they get their city issued cell phone), and a face to face meeting every three months.

The officers and staff at the NW Area Command look forward to having a partnership with our Neighborhood Watch Block Captains and their neighborhoods. Please contact Crime Prevention Specialist Pete Gelabert at (505) 803-2982 if you wish to participate in this initiative as a Block Watch Captain.