It’s always a good time to look out for your neighbor. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has made that clearer than ever, even as it’s made acting on the principle more complicated. 

The City’s Office of Neighborhood Empowerment has helped as much as possible to support and encourage organized neighborhood groups to stay engaged and informed. 

As has the Knoxville Police Department, which dedicates officers to the city’s organized neighborhood groups as part of the Neighborhood Liaison Program. 

“Last year, a lot of groups stopped meetings, and we were not encouraging groups to continue to have meetings due to COVID,” says Knoxville Police Department Neighborhood Watch Coordinator Officer John Morgan. 

Officer Morgan helps new residents identify their neighborhood watch contact and informs neighborhood watch groups about basic safety practices that can prevent and reduce crime in the community. 

One of the main ones is locking your vehicles. Never with the keys in the ignition and definitely not with the engine running. You might be surprised at the number of cars stolen under these very circumstances. 

Sgt. Michael Dabbelt (right) oversees liaison officers for 39 neighborhood groups in the East District, and Sgt. Donald Zerillo (left) supervises liaison officers in the West District.

Liaison officers serve as direct contacts to neighborhood groups that have general concerns or specific questions about crime in their neighborhoods. They take phone calls and emails and attend neighborhood group meetings to provide updates and answer questions.

In a year, KPD liaison officers can attend well over 300 community meetings. 

Officers are available to speak at neighborhood group or community meetings even if they don’t have a specifically assigned liaison officer. They can respond to community concerns about safety and crime and help provide context to the various crimes posted at CommunityCrimeMap.com. While the information shown on the website is important and helpful for neighborhoods, it benefits greatly from an Officer Liaison's perspective. 

Officer Morgan points out that the COVID-19 pandemic has also meant that KPD has been short staffed due to sickness or quarantine periods. But Neighborhood Liaison officers have made efforts to respond or provide alternative contacts.