Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Sgt. Jerry Hall of the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department talks about crime prevention with Gary Westmoreland and Vince Siorillo of Green Valley Disposal Co.

Green Valley learns how to dispose of local crime

By Torre Peña

Teaming up with West Valley law-enforcement agencies, Green Valley Disposal launched a CommunityWatch program Nov. 13 aimed at deterring crime in the community.

"I think it's a good program that will help not only the police department, but the community as well. Any extra set of eyes is helpful," said Los Gatos Police Department Sgt. Tricia Friedrich.

"The [Green Valley] people out there at odd hours have the opportunity to see things that we might not see. It's like NeighborhoodWatch--another group of people taking care of the neighborhood," she added.

More than 60 drivers of Green Valley garbage, recycling and yard waste collection trucks were trained by officers from the Los Gatos and Campbell police departments and Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office to spot signs of criminal activity in the neighborhoods they serve.

"We train them to be alert observers and give them instructions on what to do when something is out of the ordinary," said Sgt. Gerry Hall, who oversees the sheriff's crime prevention and community services unit. Hall stressed that the drivers' role is to report suspicious activities to the proper law-enforcement agency and not take any action.

"We want them to understand their role and their boundaries," said Phil Couchee, director of operations for Green Valley. "We don't want any high-speed chases."

Couchee approached Hall in October with the proposal for the program, which is similar to the established NeighborhoodWatch program.

"It's something we've done in the past anyway," Couchee said, "and we decided to formalize the program."

Once every two or three weeks in the past, drivers would call in something they saw that was suspicious, Couchee said. Early one morning four weeks ago, a Green Valley driver picking up commercial cardboard for recycling noticed two men on the roof of a store in downtown Los Gatos. The driver alerted police, who arrested the men for criminal activity.

All Green Valley drivers participated in the training program and were instructed to use radios already installed in the vehicles to call Green Valley dispatchers about suspicious activity. The dispatchers will then notify police.

"Green Valley realized that they do see things out in the community that may lead to solving a crime," Hall said.

He added that it would improve the effectiveness of the sheriff's department and local police departments.

A logo, featuring McGruff, the crime-fighting dog, will soon be displayed on Green Valley trucks. The new CommunityWatch logo will be seen in Campbell, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno and Saratoga, when the trucks rumble down their routine routes.