At its Feb. 22 meeting, the neighborhood association created a police liaison position to strengthen its ties with the San Jose Police Department.

The new police liaison will pass information on to police monitoring the North Willow Glen area, association president Ken Eklund said. The role will include reviewing concerns about neighborhood issues that are discussed on the association's email list.

Although incidents like the recent gang-related shooting on Willow Street near Spencer Avenue has North Willow Glen residents concerned for their safety, this kind of police liaison involvement would be a rarity, Eklund said. It is more likely that the police liaison's role will focus on issues such as home burglaries, car theft, noise and speeding in the area. Residents are also interested in replacing burned out streetlights, which make good hiding places.

To create this bridge between the neighborhood and the police, the group looked to its membership to fill the police liaison role. Association director Heidi Le Vell volunteered for the position.

"I really see the purpose of the liaison role as providing a voice for the community," Le Vell said.

Le Vell said she and her family moved to North Willow Glen in 2003 because she believed it was a safe place to raise a family. Le Vell has been impressed with the association's work in the community, such as neighborhood improvement days, and its active membership. These are a "strong sign of a great neighborhood," she says.

"I love this neighborhood. The sense of community is strong," Le Vell said. "I'd like to do anything I can to contribute."

Le Vell says the new position is still in its formative stages, but she encourages her neighbors to post their concerns to the email list. Confidential messages can be sent to her directly. Currently, Le Vell is establishing relationships with police officers who patrol North Willow Glen including San Jose Police Department Lt. Mike Roth.

At the March 22 association meeting San Jose Police Sgt. Bruce Unger told residents, "Your eyes and ears are crucial to our success and your neighborhood's success."

In October 2004, Sean Murphy's Snyder Avenue home was almost burglarized, so Murphy alerted all his neighbors using the email list.

"We're realizing that with the acceptance of people participating in elists, we can actually gather data pretty quickly," Eklund said. "We want to use the resource the best we can."

Looking toward the future, Eklund and Le Vell hope the police liaison role will lead to crime prevention. By collecting information for the neighborhood, the neighborhood association also hopes to spot crime trends.

For more information, visit the North Willow Glen Neighborhood Association website at www.writerguy.com/nwgna/ index.htm, or attend the association's monthly meeting on the fourth Tuesday of each month at the Word of Faith Church at 873 Delmas Ave. Meetings are held at 7 p.m.