Ask the Cop: Crime Reports, Rude Neighbors

Have you ever had a question for a police officer but never had the opportunity to ask one? Well, here is your chance. 

"Ask the Cop" is a partnership with the Leesburg Police Department. Every week we will submit your questions to Master Police Officer Christopher Tidmore and he will answer them to the best of his ability. Below are two questions we received last week:

Q: Why does it seem as though the weekly police report only shows some of the crimes taking place in Leesburg? Do police choose which ones to post on crime reports or is that really the only crime that takes place in the town?

A: The Leesburg Police Department uses Crime Reports (www.crimereports.com) to inform the public about police activity in Leesburg. When possible, activity is also posted on our Facebook page with the goal of highlighting the Crime Reports web site. 

Police activity in Leesburg is shown on Crime Reports in a map style that can be browsed by the user. Options include searching by crime type and date.   The map can be adjusted to better suit the user.  Users can also search for registered sex offenders.

Any incident that generates a case number is automatically added to the Crime Reports data base. Once the report is approved and saved in our data base, the information can then be seen by the public on Crime Reports. 

Q: My husband and I started to notice cigarette packs filled with old butts showing up on our side yard. Every week there seems to be a new one and I believe it's coming from our neighbors on the other side of the fence, who live in another community. What would you recommend we do so that we're not calling the police?

A: If you observe someone littering in your yard, please contact law enforcement so that appropriate action can be taken. Neighborhood issues are often hard to deal with since you are dealing with people who you see every day.

If speaking to your neighbor yourself (if they are definitely the persons leaving the refuse in your yard) would not be productive, and or you are finding the garbage but not seeing who is leaving it in your yard, perhaps contacting your community policing officer would be helpful. The officer could help identify who is leaving garbage in your yard and find solution through communication, education and or enforcement.

To contact your community policing officer in Leesburg, call our non emergency phone number (703.771.4500), and ask to speak with your community policing officer. If you give the dispatcher your address, they will identify your community policing officer so that you can speak with them.

-------

Do you have a question for the Officer Tidmore? Please send them to leah.kosin@patch.com or post them below this article. The next column is scheduled to post two weeks from today. The deadline to submit your questions is Friday, June 22 by noon.

About this column: "Ask the Cop" is a partnership with the Leesburg Police Department. Every week we will submit your questions to Master Police Officer Christopher Tidmore and he will answer them to the best of his ability.