[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 167 (Thursday, October 26, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2051]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          HONORING NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH GROUPS OF FAIRFAX COUNTY

                          HON. THOMAS M. DAVIS

                              of virginia

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                          HON. JAMES P. MORAN

                              of virginia

                    In the House of Representatives

                       Thursday, October 26, 1995

  Mr. DAVIS. Mr. Speaker, we rise today to pay tribute to Fairfax 
County's Neighborhood Watch Program which will be celebrating its 16th 
anniversary on October 27, 1995.
  In 1979, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and the Fairfax 
County Police Department embraced the concept of citizen participation 
through Neighborhood Watch and formally endorsed its acceptance and 
establishment throughout the county. From that beginning 16 years ago, 
an outstandingly effective community-based crime prevention program has 
developed.
  The growth of Neighborhood Watch in the county has been phenomenal, 
with more than 250 programs in operation by mid-1982. Expansion has 
continued at a steady pace, with more than 911 communities organized 
throughout the county. The number of participating citizen volunteers 
has increased from several hundred in 1979 to a 1995 total of more than 
40,000 neighbors who care.
  Even more impressive than the growth of the program has been its 
impact on the occurrence of crime in Fairfax County. Property crimes, 
such as burglary, larceny, and vandalism, had been increasingly 
steadily through 1980, but with the advent of Neighborhood Watch on a 
widespread basis, such crimes began to decrease sharply, as much as 50 
percent in cases of reported vandalism. This program has enabled the 
county to hold its own against crime, with actual numbers of offenses 
increasing at a far lower percentage than the growth of the county's 
population. Overall today, Fairfax County is the safest jurisdiction in 
the Nation for an entity of its size.
  The program's overall success and myriad of accomplishments have 
brought Fairfax County national and international recognition, 
including formal citations by the President of the Untied States and 
visitors from throughout the Nation and around the world to observe 
first hand the results of this cooperative endeavor between a local 
police department and citizens it serves.
  Mr. Speaker, we know that our colleagues join us in honoring Fairfax 
County's Neighborhood Watch for its 16 years of dedicated service and 
commitment to make Fairfax County a better place to live.

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