The Observer Newspapers | HPD's "Level of Service" Sets It Apart From Others, Officer Says

Sept. 12 , 2008

HPD's "Level of Service" Sets It Apart From Others, Officer Says

The Town of Herndon police place a strong emphasis on community policing and their partnership with the community. In this series, The Observer will profile officers who work and live near or grew up in the Herndon community.

By Rebecca Plevin

Observer Staff Writer

Sgt. Jim Moore said he joined the Herndon Police Department eight years ago because he was interested in working for a small town police force. He had spent 11 years working for the Arlington County police and expected Herndon to be a slower, more quietly paced town with less crime and fewer gangs. "Man, that's not the case," Moore said.

Moore said the Herndon officers see all the problems and crimes of a bigger jurisdiction, but what sets the Herndon department apart from other law enforcement agencies, he said, is the level of service the Herndon police provide to the town residents. "Herndon does it more than anybody else," Moore said.

Moore said the Herndon squad helps people who have been locked out of their cars, offers vacation house checks, and responds to complaints of barking dogs and loud parties. "If we provide the best service, I think the citizens will help us," he said. He said the police encourage people to call in minor problems, like a suspicious person hanging around a car, because that might lead to something bigger—like preventing somebody from breaking into a car. "It's the little things that actually develop into big things," he said.

He said Herndon's dedication to its community policing philosophy allows the agency to solve problems for the long run. If a crime pattern emerges, he said, the police educate the public about the issue and then encourage Neighborhood Watch groups to work with the police to alleviate the situation. "We're trying to solve problems not just for the short term," he said. The police, he said, want to "resolve the situation for the long term."

Moore had not always planned on being a small-town police officer. When he was younger, he said, he wanted to join the Federal Bureau of Investigations. After college, he said he joined the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police and then the Arlington police, with the goal of getting "some law enforcement experience under my belt" before joining the federal department. But he said that while working for the Arlington force he participated on a FBI task force and realized how bureaucratic the federal government could be. After that experience, he said, he made the decision to pursue the management path in a local agency.

When he is not supervising patrol officers, Moore said he spends time with his family. Moore has three daughters and he said he enjoys coaching their volleyball and soccer teams and helping them practice their softball skills. The bond between a father and a daughter is very important and "lasts forever," he said.

Moore is also an avid golfer. He said he plays on local courses like the Herndon Centennial Golf Course and Brambleton Regional Park in Ashburn, but he has also taken swings at courses across the country and world. About 15 years ago, he said, he and his father played on golf courses in Ireland and Scotland, and it was "the best time ever." He has also played at Whistling Straits, a course in Wisconsin that is often on the PGA tour. He said golf allows him to separate himself from his work and though it can be a frustrating game, it can provide relaxation, too.