Denver Police Officers Jim López, Mike Borquez Honored For Reigniting Neighborhood Watch Program
DENVER (CBS4)- A neighborhood in Denver credits the decrease in crime in their area to their Neighborhood Watch Program. In Denver Police Department's District Three, burglaries dropped 33% in the first half of the year and continues to drop.
Neighbors like Christie Mochoruk say the change is in large part due to two officers who made it their mission to reignite an almost extinct Neighborhood Watch Program.
"Both officers go above and beyond, sometimes problems are pretty easy to fix and other times it's not so black and white," she said.
At an event honoring Denver Police Officers Jim López and Mike Borquez, the District 3 commander said the two men saw an opportunity to merge other community programs into the Neighborhood Watch, leading to 1,000 people in the district getting involved.
"I want to make this a better place to grow up then when I grew up here," Lopez said
But none of it they say would have been possible without a community willing to help.
"It really is a partnership with us and the community if we didn't have them, the program wouldn't be successful," Borquez said.
Neighbors like Mochoruk say it's more than just the watch program, The two officers don't just talk about being there for the community they serve-- they show up, whether it's on the basketball court, at area schools or simply on their neighborhood streets.
"That's the part that makes it real otherwise it's just us doing a job," Lopez said.
That effort in their eyes is no big deal, but it hasn't gone unnoticed.
The two were honored by their peers with the excellence in crime prevention award on Tuesday night. Their community, who today feels more like family, was there in support of the officers.
"Finally, these officers, I can't think of two more deserving, who have gone above and beyond who will shy away from recognition at all costs but who deserve it more than anyone," Mochoruk said.
The changes the two officers made to their district's neighborhood watch training and recruitment program have been so successful, the effort will be expanded to other police districts in Denver.