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TextOperation Summer Heat to Deter Gang Activity
Fairfax County Police Department
Public Information Office
4100 Chain Bridge Road, Fairfax, Va. 22030
703-246-2253. TTY 703-204-2264. Fax 703-246-4253
FCPD-PIO@fairfaxcounty.gov
www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police
News Release: 09/SummerHeat/tjw/(5)
July 16, 2009
Operation Summer Heat to Deter Gang Activity
Reston Police District – On Saturday, July 18, the Reston District Station will kick off Operation Summer Heat, a four-week enforcement campaign designed to address and deter criminal gang activity. In the past few months, the Reston area has experienced criminal and gang-related activity on and around various trails in the district. Countless residents use the trails and pathways for exercise, leisure and daily travel. Generally, they pass safely without incident and officers frequently patrol the paths on foot.
In the first half of 2009, there were 27 total gang-related incidents in the Reston Police District down from 49 during the same time period in 2008. The police department is dedicated to keeping criminal street gangs out of the county and, as Captain Deborah Burnett, Commander of the Reston Station, put it, “Gang-related activity in Reston will not be tolerated in our communities and to show we are serious, we are turning up the heat on criminal street gangs.”
In response to the recent incidents, Captain Burnett has focused on executing strategies that target gangs, identify gang members and foster awareness within communities about criminal street gangs. Patrol officers, the Neighborhood Patrol Unit and plain-clothes officers will be out in force on trails throughout Reston. Crime Prevention Officers will visit numerous residential and business communities to educate residents and business owners about the best ways to prevent crime.
Captain Burnett recognizes that community support is vital “to make our efforts successful. You are encouraged to call the police any time you witness a crime or suspicious activity.”
Gang prevention, intervention and suppression continue to be a coordinated priority in Fairfax County. For more information about gangs you can visit: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/gangprevention/aboutgangs.htm. Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Solvers by phone at 1-866-411-TIPS/8477, e-mail at www.fairfaxcrimesolvers.org or text “TIP187” plus your message to CRIMES/274637 or call Fairfax County Police at 703-691-2131.
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