This Week in Crime: "Operation Summer Heat," at Long Last, Brings Cool-Sounding Name to Reston Anti-Gang Efforts

Guess what? Reston has a bit of a gang problem. But now Fairfax County Police are going to do something about it, with a kick-ass-sounding program called "Operation Summer Heat." Bring it on!

On Saturday, July 18, the Reston District Station will kick off Operation Summer Heat, a four-week enforcement campaign designed to address and deter criminal gang activity. In the past few months, the Reston area has experienced criminal and gang-related activity on and around various trails in the district. Countless residents use the trails and pathways for exercise, leisure and daily travel. Generally, they pass safely without incident and officers frequently patrol the paths on foot.

Well, except maybe for this guy (second item). And these folks. And... well, you get the idea.

In the first half of 2009, there were 27 total gang-related incidents in the Reston Police District down from 49 during the same time period in 2008. The police department is dedicated to keeping criminal street gangs out of the county and, as Captain Deborah Burnett, Commander of the Reston Station, put it, "Gang-related activity in Reston will not be tolerated in our communities and to show we are serious, we are turning up the heat on criminal street gangs."

In response to the recent incidents, Captain Burnett has focused on executing strategies that target gangs, identify gang members and foster awareness within communities about criminal street gangs. Patrol officers, the Neighborhood Patrol Unit and plain-clothes officers will be out in force on trails throughout Reston. Crime Prevention Officers will visit numerous residential and business communities to educate residents and business owners about the best ways to prevent crime. Captain Burnett recognizes that community support is vital "to make our efforts successful. You are encouraged to call the police any time you witness a crime or suspicious activity."

This is all a good thing, particularly since gang activity seems to be impacting a church, of all places. Christ the Servant Lutheran Church at Hunters Woods has been plagued by graffiti, and a new law says that they'll have to foot the bill to clean it up.

As of July 1, a new state law empowers localities to charge property owners for the cost of removing graffiti drawn on private buildings, walls, fences and more. If cleanup is not paid for, localities can clean it and put a lien on the property to recoup their costs.

“We had been through a chronic graffiti problem for a while, but then we began ministering to a homeless person who seemed to be friends with the gangs in the area,” said Phillip Carl, pastor of the church.

“We think he put out the word not to tag our church, so for a great period of time we were graffiti-free. But then he moved to Philadelphia and we are not under his protection anymore so we are being tagged again.”

Carl said that the church has been ‘tagged’ at least three times in the last nine months. “Right now on the back wall, there is a drawn character and the name ‘fat-boy’.” He says it is highly visible to anyone strolling on the walkways behind the church.

In the past few years, those walkways have been the backdrop for many violent crimes, many of which police believe are gang-related.

Police have recently focused on the church, issuing them a warning.

“We recently received a note from [Reston District Station] police officer R.L. Jones, stating ‘If you do not clean, remove or cover the defacement within 15 days from the date of this notice, the defacement may be subject to the removal by the county’ at a cost to us,” Carl said.

Maybe the police can call that move "Operation Collection Plate."