Times Community Newspapers - Top Stories - 03/22/2005 - HOAs turn to private security, request more deputies
As the Sheriff's Office struggles to keep up with the growing demands of Loudoun's ever-growing population, some homeowner associations are turning to volunteer neighborhood watch programs and even private security firms to supplement the sense of community presence they say overextended Sheriff's deputies cannot always provide. Representing more than 12,000 families in eastern Loudoun, the HOA presidents of Ashburn Farm, Ashburn Village and Broadlands recently appeared at a county budget public hearing to support full funding of the Sheriff's Office. The speakers named the hiring of more deputies as a top priority for the county, citing their private efforts to reduce vandalism as an indication that the Sheriff's Office needs more people to patrol the streets.