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Sheriff reports surge in calls as county neighborhood watch coordinator urges residents to report tips
Summary
Lieutenant George Gomez told the Sun Valley CAB the sheriff's office handled nearly 7,000 calls for service in February and urged residents to use 311/dispatch. Teresa Po of the Washoe County Sheriff's Office outlined how to form a neighborhood watch and what makes formal groups more effective than ad-hoc reporting.
Lieutenant George Gomez of the Washoe County Sheriff's Office told the Sun Valley Citizens Advisory Board that the sheriff's office recorded "close to 7,000 calls for service" in February and has seen rising trends in DUI and drug-related arrests. He said deputies are conducting more self-initiated patrols in Sun Valley and stressed that the public's reports help the office identify trends and allocate resources.
"If it's not reported, it never happened," said Teresa Po, the county's neighborhood watch coordinator, who spoke to the board about the formal program her office runs. Po outlined practical steps for residents: how an organized neighborhood watch trains volunteers to be better witnesses, what information dispatchers need when calling 911, and how to preserve and submit video evidence without making invasive surveillance of neighbors.
The presentation emphasized differences between informal complaints and an active neighborhood-watch group. Po said registered groups receive training, a dispatcher briefing to learn how to report incidents more effectively, and guidance about signage. She cautioned that signs placed on county right-of-way require county approval because of liability and placement rules.
Residents raised recurring concerns during Q&A: unattended or unlicensed vehicles parked on school-bus routes, off-highway vehicles riding at night, delayed responses for non-priority calls, and whether the county asks Nevada Highway Patrol to increase Boulevard patrols after serious accidents. Gomez said the sheriff's office can request additional agency attention but cannot compel other agencies and encouraged the community to file traffic-enforcement requests on the sheriff's website to trigger targeted enforcement.
The sheriff's office recommended the following immediate steps for residents: report suspicious activity to dispatch or 311, request traffic-enforcement days for chronic problem streets, document suspected crimes with video (which the office can download via a secure link), and consider forming an active neighborhood-watch group by contacting the sheriff's neighborhood-watch coordinator.
The board did not adopt any new enforcement policy at the meeting; staff said they would follow up on specific citizen requests and continue outreach on watch formation and dispatcher training.
