If you leave your garage door open and unattended, you just might get a friendly phone call from Ed Fox, the neighborhood crime watch guru. But he’s channeled his efforts beyond his block of Prestonwood Estates West. Fox has spoken to communities all over the North Central Patrol Division, promoting the Dallas Police Department’s 22 programs like Volunteers in Patrol (VIP), in which residents take a class on how to spot suspicious activity. North Dallas has the highest number of volunteers, Dallas Police Sr. Cpl. D.J. Beatty says, and the best crime deterrent is neighbors looking out for each other. Fox is one of those neighbors and has received several honors including the DPD’s Doris Berry Award, the highest award given to a civilian. Dallas Police recognized Fox again at the Crime Watch Executive Board banquet last month for volunteering 10,000 hours in 10 years.
Q. How long have you lived in P.E.N.A. West?
We moved here in 1971. The houses were just starting to get built. When we moved in, Hillcrest was a humpback, country, tar road. There was nothing north of us. We thought we were in the country. We thought we were going to be living in that atmosphere forever.
Q. How did you get involved in crime watch?
At a neighborhood meeting, they were looking for different positions. One thing led to another. When I retired, it became a full-time job. It keeps me going. You meet an awful lot of interesting people. I’ve never met a bad volunteer. I decided to follow the advice of my long since dead father. On his retirement, he spent every waking hour volunteering and giving back to his community. ‘When you can, try volunteering, it’s rewarding,’ he told me. I also listened to another hero of mine, when he said, ‘We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.’
Q. What did you retire from?
I was raised in the coal mining area of Eastern Pennsylvania. Following college and a four-year stint in the U.S. Navy, I began a sales and marketing career for various United States mining equipment and explosive manufacturers. I spent 75 percent of my life traveling this earth in far-flung, desolate and, in some cases, yet un-named places. More importantly, that was 75 percent of my life away from my family — not the best family lifestyle. I retired in 1989 as vice president of marketing for Dresser Industries.
Q. How have you helped spread the word about volunteer patrol programs?
I try to speak in front of as many people as I can — PTAs, churches, synagogues, knitting clubs. Then hopefully, they’ll go home and talk their neighborhood associations into getting these programs. I always seem to come out of a meeting with at least a few prospects.
Q. What do you look for on a typical patrol?
In the five-hour class at the police station, you learn things like what makes a person suspicious. We look for open garage doors — not only anomalies in the neighborhood that make opportunities for crime, but anything that doesn’t look right. One VIP group in Melshire Estates noticed a lot of cars frequently stopping next to each other. It ended up being an exchange of drugs, and they were arrested.
Q. What do you love about your neighborhood?
For me, I like the location. We’re not in an extremely busy area, although Hillcrest isn’t the country road it used to be. If you want to participate and be social, there are all kinds of activities. The last ten years have been the most rewarding time of my life. I’ve gained more caring, giving friends that I never imagined I would have. A Dallas Police Department officer once told me that volunteers are the best people I’ll ever meet. She was right.
