Comments on Restonian: News blog from Reston, Virginia, the mauve-colored New Town (tm): This Week in Crime: Police Break Up Melee, Stabbin...

SouthLakesMom... unfortunately I did not get the n...

2009-06-26T16:35:33.384-04:00

SouthLakesMom... unfortunately I did not get the name of the officer... it was obvious while I started at the Reston District Staion with my call, I got bumped somewhere else...

Anonymous 11:11 -- you can go the FFCty Police web...

2009-06-26T13:42:18.975-04:00

Anonymous 11:11 -- you can go the FFCty Police website and file a report on-line https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police/crs/#WhatcrimesDOqualifyforCRS

The response you got is directly opposite to what the Reston Dist Commander said they're doing in these cases -- I hope you got the names of the people giving you the run-around...you can send them to her directly.

Well, I decided to call the Reston FFX Cty Police ...

2009-06-26T11:11:29.638-04:00

Well, I decided to call the Reston FFX Cty Police District Station to ask/report the gang tags near Lake anne Elementary School, and pathways... after several phone hops, got to a police officer who stated not much could be done... suggested I contact the Reston District Station which is where I started...

Impressive, to say the least... guess we're on our own folks...

And I just heard Joe Leighton motioned to the RA B...

2009-06-26T10:40:33.070-04:00

And I just heard Joe Leighton motioned to the RA Board last night to eliminate Browns Chapel park as the site for a rec center --

Way to go Joe....!!!

Absolutely agree... "...It would be nice if...

2009-06-26T10:38:58.149-04:00

Absolutely agree...

"...It would be nice if RA would consider spending money on keeping up the amenities we already have before they think about spending a huge sum on a new center. Reston's pathways are the pride of the community, and yet they are becoming increasingly unusable because of crime...."

To Sawyers Resident -- ICE isn't the solution,...

2009-06-26T09:53:48.410-04:00

To Sawyers Resident -- ICE isn't the solution, except in that it might eliminate some of the victim. Last night the Police Captain said the victims tend to be Hispanic and the perps have so far, been African American. ICE only helps solve 1/2 of that problem.

I have noticed that the Fairfax County Police have...

2009-06-25T22:51:06.572-04:00

I have noticed that the Fairfax County Police have been down near the area in question a lot lately. On bikes. It is a shame that that happenned. I still use Safeway. Lets face it. Hunters Woods was a lot rougher once and got better. Let us not lose hope.

The problem with the area is Winterthur. Sure, th...

2009-06-25T22:39:51.319-04:00

The problem with the area is Winterthur. Sure, there's problems with Stonegate and Shadowood. But HWSC and Winterthur seem to be at the confluence of these issues.

The question is how do we pacify Winterthur? We could do like Stonegate and convert one of the apartments for police use or tear down the old church and put in a full-fledged police station or even take the empty storefront in HWSC.

But I don't think that police are enough. My kid and I walked through there last night at about 8:30 for groceries. There were at least 4 cops on bikes at that time.

I really think that we would be better served if we put an ICE Enforcement office there. I'm betting that much of the gang problem isn't coming from the citizens and legal residents. They don't seem to be too concerned about going to jail, but they certainly do fear deportation.

(If only the Ffx Cty BoS would take a page from the playbook from our neighbors to the south: Prince William County. PWC cracked down and, while they've got RE problems, the gang problem there has markedly decreased.)

Here's a solution that takes care of everybody's problem. RA wants a rec center. If they recommend buying and razing Winterthur and putting it on that location, it can cost $200m and I'll support it.

However, until somebody with the local authorities, whether it be RA or Ffx Cty, comes up with a real solution to the problem, I'm going to do the very thing that I've been resisting doing for years: I'm going to exercise my second amendment rights.

What we really need are some bicycle-cops on Resto...

2009-06-25T19:20:55.957-04:00

What we really need are some bicycle-cops on Reston's paths. There needs to be police activity there on a regular basis. As it is now, every thug in the area knows that those are "safe" places for them to operate. A few cops making rounds on the paths periodically would make a big difference- if the criminals knew there were cops running though there at random intervals, they might not be so brazen.

It would be nice if RA would consider spending money on keeping up the amenities we already have before they think about spending a huge sum on a new center. Reston's pathways are the pride of the community, and yet they are becoming increasingly unusable because of crime.

I thought some newer townhouses were behind Hunter...

2009-06-25T18:59:48.073-04:00

I thought some newer townhouses were behind Hunters Woods SC. I guess it all depends on whether you're looking North from Glade Dr or East from Colts Neck Rd. The path between Winterthur and the shopping center should be avoided. It's poorly lit and dips so far below Colts Neck Rd that any crime would not be visible from the road.

We are doing our own crime watch -- and we know FF...

2009-06-25T17:52:00.688-04:00

We are doing our own crime watch -- and we know FFX Cty Police is doing it's best... unfortunately the paths that connect clusters and the adjacent areas are being taken over late at night by strangers... the police can only be in so many places -- they need more people, more capacity...

If you are concerned about crime, create a neighbo...

2009-06-25T17:43:24.265-04:00

If you are concerned about crime, create a neighborhood watch and take ownership of your community. There is a monthly meeting at the Reston Poice station which covers recent crime and investigation updates and progress.

Figures... our community leadership at work... ima...

2009-06-25T16:54:18.873-04:00

Figures... our community leadership at work... imagine if they would realign their thinking. Imagine what the police chief would be able to get in resources... but hey.... let's make sure the tennis players get a roof over their heads...

"... The FFCty Police site gives a number to report gang graffiti and says that after they've recorded it, the property owner should immediately have it removed. OH NO! This means we have to wait for RA? Or if it's on the school property we wait for the county? Or if it's on a utility box we wait for Dominion Power? Can you see where this is going?..."

The FFCty Police site gives a number to report gan...

2009-06-25T16:38:25.902-04:00

The FFCty Police site gives a number to report gang graffiti and says that after they've recorded it, the property owner should immediately have it removed. OH NO! This means we have to wait for RA? Or if it's on the school property we wait for the county? Or if it's on a utility box we wait for Dominion Power? Can you see where this is going?

luv it when our board wants to focus on their own ...

2009-06-25T16:06:05.364-04:00

luv it when our board wants to focus on their own personal needs vs the people they represent... can't wait for the new election cycle... yea, I know nothing changes, but I so look forward to kicking the existing team out...

I stopped going to HWSC months ago. The middle-of...

2009-06-25T15:55:37.055-04:00

I stopped going to HWSC months ago. The middle-of-the-day robberies happen too often. The recent murder and last night's knife fight are just added confirmation that I made the right decision.

Agreed... "...A Rec Center will produce no m...

2009-06-25T15:37:39.885-04:00

Agreed...

"...A Rec Center will produce no material change to Reston...."

A Rec Center will produce no material change to Re...

2009-06-25T14:30:22.698-04:00

A Rec Center will produce no material change to Reston.

While I will not hold the RA Board, the RCC Board ...

2009-06-25T14:26:11.786-04:00

While I will not hold the RA Board, the RCC Board or the FFX County Representative responsible for the outrageous activities...

I WILL HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE for even considering the FRIVOLOUS idea of spending $40 million to $60 Million on a rec center, when we could easily use this bond money to augment our police force; repair our infrastructure and attract homeowner growth, new business, and development.

I have been reading the blogs from this website fr...

2009-06-25T14:19:32.234-04:00

I have been reading the blogs from this website from the beginning of the year and it sounds as though the best thing to do is to stay off the WOD and other walking paths after sunset.

On the other hand there seems to be a slow developing problem in South Reston which law enforcement need to resolve.

I may not be able to make this evening's meeti...

2009-06-25T14:18:52.412-04:00

I may not be able to make this evening's meeting ... but, if gang tagging is discussed, the locations of most recent activity are:

Bench at Waterview Cluster Marina,

RA lamp post and RA sign along RA path between Waterview and Fairway/North Shore intersection,

And the worst offense --

The children's wall painting in the pedestrian tunnel at the Fairway/North Shore intersection. It took the kids over a month to do this beautiful mural... and is within eyesight of their Lake Anne Elementary School... now destroyed.

Tonight, at the regular RA June Board of Directors...

2009-06-25T13:54:39.758-04:00

Tonight, at the regular RA June Board of Directors meeting, Captain Burnett and Lt. Rogers from the Reston District Station will be giving the Board (and community) an update on crime and other related activities.

This is a great opportunity for those of you concerned about this issue to get the news straight from the source. It’s at 7 p.m. at 1930 Isaac Newton Sq. in the main conference room.

I intend to go and ask about the perceived(?) increase in gang activity.

BTW -- I'm the one who posted about the tagging of the utility box. I dropped those photos off at the police station the Monday after it appeared...

The only time I go to Hunters Woods is to occassio...

2009-06-25T13:02:24.276-04:00

The only time I go to Hunters Woods is to occassionaly rent a movie from the video store since there isn't one on my side of the demarcation line near the South Lakes Safeway.

I noticed about a month ago that the DVD return box at the video store's curb is gone. While I'm not lazy enough to complain about getting out of the car to return DVDs, I always wondered if it was because people were messing with the box.

One thing RA and the local police could do immedia...

2009-06-25T12:35:41.337-04:00

One thing RA and the local police could do immediately to start countering these problems is to paint over or otherwise remove graffiti, especially gang-related, as soon as it appears. This is the "one broken window" theory that Rudy Giuliani and his police commissioners in NYC used in the 1990s to dramatically lower the crime rate there: crack down on minor crime (like vandalism, public drinking, etc.) and anything that gives the appearance of disorder or deterioration (like a single broken window on a street or graffiti) so as to not give the impression of a community spiraling out of control. Someone posted several days ago about graffiti appearing on a utility box by the campfire ring in the Glade by Soapstone. As of yesterday afternoon it was still there. May we ask the RA to get a can of DRB-approved paint and just paint over the damn thing sooner rather than later? Learn from Giuliani!

RA is pretty good at scheduling community meetings...

2009-06-25T12:25:11.609-04:00

RA is pretty good at scheduling community meetings now. I'm going to ask them to schedule one each for North and South Reston to discuss this gang problem -- and we want the local police there to bring us up to date.

I'll let you all know their answer.