In Colorado Springs, Dennis Moore is Mr. Neighborhood Watch.
He is one of those people who simply like helping others. Even if it requires hours of work every week on their own time.
In 1991, Moore organized a Neighborhood Watch group in his Bandelier Drive neighborhood in southeast Colorado Springs.
Then, a year ago, Moore began donating hours and hours of his retirement time to help similar groups across the city as the volunteer Neighborhood Watch program coordinator in the Sand Creek division of the Colorado Springs Police Department. He works closely with Crime Prevention Officer Lori Torrini. In fact, they share a cramped office at the Sand Creek police station.
Here’s a photo of Moore, left, and Torrini at a recent quarterly meeting of Sand Creek area block captains.
Starting Jan. 12, Moore will take an ever higher-profile role as CSPD launches a three-month project to train all Neighborhood Watch block captains. It’s part of the agency’s year-long goal of re-energizing the city’s Neighborhood Watch program and fighting crime on a block-by-block basis.
Moore was instrumental in rewriting the Neighborhood Watch Block Captain Handbook - the book at the heart of the upcoming training. Here is a schedule for the training sessions.
Moore devotes his evenings and weekends to helping his neighbors. Here is a photo of Moore, left, and in 2006 during a neighborhood cleanup effort.
Moore will go anywhere, talk to anyone to promote Neighborhood Watch. Here he is being chatted up by a TV news crew.
No blog about Moore would be complete if I didn’t include some of the information he feels is important for every neighbor in the Springs area. So here is part of his list.
First, how to reach Moore: 719-444-7206 or moorede@ci.colospgs.co.us
Important Phone Numbers
Non-Emergency 444-7000
Poison Control 1-800-332-3073
Falcon Division
General Info 444-7240
Duty Desk 444-7249
Crime Prevention 444-7246
Investigations 444-7245
Gold Hill Division
Duty Desk 385-2125
Crime Prevention 385-2117
Investigations 385-2128
Sand Creek Division
Duty Desk 444-7282
Crime Prevention 444-7276
Stetson Hills Division
General Info 444-3140
Duty Desk 444-3144
Crime Prevention 444-3168
Investigations 444-3146
General Police Units
Crime Stoppers 444-STOP
634-STOP
Metro Vice / Narcotics 444-7766
Park Police 444-7708
Vehicle Impound 578-6754
Numbers for Your Information
Better Business Bureau 636-1155
Chamber of Commerce 635-1551
Code Enforcement 444-7891
County Clerk & Recorder 520-6202
Colorado Springs Utilities 448-4800
Court
District / County 448-7700
Municipal 385-5922
Dept. Human Services 636-0000
Child Abuse 24hr 444-5700
Domestic Violence Hotline 633-3819
Drivers License (Dept. of Rev.)
4420 Austin Bluffs 594-8701
Drug Hotline 444-3111
Explorer Program 444-7843
Fingerprint Info 444-7464
Fire Dept. Admin. 385-5950
Graffiti Removal Hotline 634-5713
Humane Society 473-1741
Jail – CJC 390-2000
License Plates 520-6240
Mayor 385-5986
Neighborhood Justice 520-6016
Police Athletic League 444-7618
Parking Enforcement 444-7706
CSPD Records 444-7464
CSPD Recruiting 444-7555
Traffic Engineering 385-5908
Victim Assistance (DA) 520-6049
Volunteer Program 444-7441
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I’m glad to see Moore and other people like him getting citizens involved in policing our neighbourhoods. After all, the cops can’t be everywhere at once. If we know our neighbours and meet with them every once in a while we will be more likely to recognise a robbery rather than assuming the old man across has two burly visitors dressed in all black and carrying flashlights. Personal responsibility will be what gets us through these times of budget limitations. We are lucky to live in a state where our second amendment rights are well protected. We are not 100% reliant on the police to protect ourselves and our families, part of the responsibility falls on us.
I admit, I have not been able to get out there and meet my own neightbors. Now I’m in need of help of those that do, my daughter is missing – here is the link – http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewChildDetail&caseNum=1113351&orgPrefix=NCMC&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US
And I’m trying to reach as many people as possible tha might have seen her. I currently live in the Rockrimmon area but before that we lived in Stetson hills for 3 years – so she might have made it to that area as well.