"Oh Captain, my Captain!" "Oh Captain, my Captain!" (May 27, 2005)

Block captains lead their neighborhoods in crime prevention and community building
by Rebecca Guyon

Community building and crime prevention go hand in hand, and the Neighborhood Watch program has led this effort since the early 1970s. While every neighbor is involved with the watch, there is at least one person in each community who leads the effort. This person is known as the block captain, and it is his or her responsibility to act as a liaison between their neighborhood and the police department. Approximately 200 Pleasanton neighborhoods have a watch program, all with at least one block captain.

"I think most block captains put some neat energy into it and have a real good spirit about their community," said Neighborhood Watch coordinator Officer Penelope Tamm.

Margo Tarver became a block captain last year when she initiated a Neighborhood Watch for her community in the condominiums across from Nob Hill.

"I didn't really know any of my neighbors before because a lot of people would just go into their house and close the door," Tarver said. "Through the program we came to know each other."

Tarver's main motivation to bring the program to her neighborhood wasn't just to meet her neighbors, but to put an end to the illegal activity that was happening just across the street. One of her neighbors was selling drugs and another one was operating an illegal air conditioning business, but the community members were afraid to do anything about it.

"I'm not the kind of person to be intimidated," Tarver said. "I thought at least if we had a Neighborhood Watch group, looked out for each other and became more aware of what activities were going on, then we could report more to the police. Even if other people weren't willing to stick their neck out, they were willing to report what they saw to me."

After the watch started and Tarver was recognized as the leader, the drug-dealing neighbor tried to intimidate her by blocking the sidewalk as she passed and the neighbor with the illegal business spread toxic chemical in front of her house. But Tarver said having the support of her neighbors and knowing they were watching out for her gave her a sense of safety to continue with the project.

"I just felt it was important to get our neighborhood together and have somebody to look out for my property," Tarver said. "As long as I was the one making the reports and calls, I needed to know that I had people watching out for me."

The effort paid off because the drug dealer moved out six months ago with the illegal business owner moving out three months earlier. Even with this victory, Tarver said she is most happy with how her neighborhood has come together to feel like a real community.

Other communities may not have had such a direct need for the program, but still find that it helps create a close-knit and safe neighborhood.

Michelle LaMarche became a block captain seven years ago after taking her children on a tour of the police station. The police officer giving the tour was trying to start a watch in LaMarche's neighborhood between Hearst Drive and Kottinger Ranch Road, which was a newly built neighborhood at the time, and asked LaMarche if she would help get it started. The officer was so nice, LaMarche said she just couldn't say no.

Since that time, LaMarche's neighborhood hasn't had too many problems, but the watch has helped curb things like vandalism before they could become real problems.

"Everyone wants to know what's going on and whenever there are any problems with power outages or weird people I alert everyone," LaMarche said. "I know what's going on in Pleasanton even before it hits the papers."

In fact, knowing what's going on and disseminating information about crimes and incidents affecting residents is one of the block captains' main responsibilities, Tamm said.

"It's good for people to get information about what happened in their neighborhood so they won't worry," Tamm said.

The crime prevention unit continues to get neighborhoods involved in safety through events like the "National Night Out" where neighborhoods hold block parties in the night- time hours to promote the idea that if they are out, they are preventing crime. It also serves as a way for neighbors to have fun and continue to build their community, Tamm said.

"It's about being aware of each other," Tamm said. "Instead of me just looking out for me, I'm now looking out for the whole neighborhood."

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