SilverJK Posted September 9, 2013 Share Posted September 9, 2013 We as a community need to be on our watch more. I'm personally responsible for the arrest of a few people (called the cops and they showed up VERY quickly) because of my late night tendencies and my constant looking outside when I hear noises. One of the guys I caught was a habitual offender and was responsible for a plethora of burglaries just on my block alone. I'm not saying we don't need more police presence, but meeting and organizing with your neighbors to make a community effort to help the police will make better progress stopping these kinds of crimes. As you stated, these are mostly opportunity crimes. I've seen many times where someone is walking down the street (instead of the sidewalk) and checking door handles to see if they are locked. If there are cops around they obviously won't do this... but they will simply wait until they aren't there. The real issue is these people just get slapped on the wrist when caught. The guy I caught had an arrest record of over 18 convictions. (i had to go to court because the fool wouldn't plea down and I got subpoena'd). Several of his arrests for drugs or burglary he didn't even spend more than a month in jail. Rediculous. If you knew that you would spend serious time (years) behind bars for breaking in to a car or detached garage then you'd probably think twice about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverJK Posted September 9, 2013 Share Posted September 9, 2013 (edited) Mark, Do you really think these criminals give one crap about whether or not who they are robbing is liberal or conservative? Do you think they pull up a map of politcal affiliation and decide where they are going to rob based on poll data? Give me a break dude. They break into your car because they are walking by and see something in your car and nobody around. This ain't the damn wild west either... if someone jumps out of a car with a gun drawn and wants your cell phone... it doesn't really matter if you have a gun or not... all you are going to do is get yourself shot. I'm all for gun rights, I own several, but your vision is highly dillusional. Now if you hear someone trying to break into your house and you get your gun and wait on them... thats a bit of a different story. Edited September 9, 2013 by SilverJK 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksmu Posted September 9, 2013 Share Posted September 9, 2013 Mark, Do you really think these criminals give one crap about whether or not who they are robbing is liberal or conservative? Do you think they pull up a map of politcal affiliation and decide where they are going to rob based on poll data? Give me a break dude. They break into your car because they are walking by and see something in your car and nobody around. This ain't the damn wild west either... if someone jumps out of a car with a gun drawn and wants your cell phone... it doesn't really matter if you have a gun or not... all you are going to do is get yourself shot. I'm all for gun rights, I own several, but your vision is highly dillusional. Now if you hear someone trying to break into your house and you get your gun and wait on them... thats a bit of a different story. No I dont think a thief cares about the political affiliation at all, but I do think they target areas where they are less likely to encounter resistance. These people are not complete idiots - they make a living committing crimes and they are paying attention. Yes lots of this is smash/grab but lots of it is well planned. They case neighborhoods, they have lookouts, they watch who is coming/going. This is not pure opportunity crime any longer. These criminals do pay attention to their surroundings. More so than most people living in them. I don't live in a dream world. If I were the kid, I would have given up my cell phone faster than you could blink an eye...Im not some wild west wanna be - Its just factual. The heights is an easy target b/c of the reasons I posted. Its time it gets cleaned up before it spirals out of control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J008 Posted September 9, 2013 Share Posted September 9, 2013 The heights is an easy target b/c of the reasons I posted. Its time it gets cleaned up before it spirals out of control. To be quite honest, I think it is probably a gang related thing. I walked to metro mart last night and there is some gang graffiti in the exact spot where the kid got robbed. If you really look around, the heights is absolutely coverd in gang graffiti. That plus beverly between 11th and 12th1/2 has a whole string of low rent and really run down apartments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heightsite Posted September 9, 2013 Share Posted September 9, 2013 We need more police presence and more vigilant neighbors that actually are aware of who lives next to, across the street and behind them. We also need a communication strategy to keep residents informed. The availability of social media for the local neighborhood is virtually non-existent with the exception of a few general boards. I would gladly pay dues to the HHA if they had a neighborhood bulletin board with alerts. The constable program is an attempt but I truly believe "the feet on the ground" can be much more efficient in dettering hoodlum crime and vandalism as it occurs.I was very disappointed the elitists in WH forced the community to join an exclusive board available only to members in their subdivision mainly due to the immediate alert when our local community was under siege. It also served as a reminder to always be alert and all types of crimes were posted. We did not have to wait for the "if it bleeds it leads" stories to wake us from our gentrified slumber. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fwki Posted September 9, 2013 Share Posted September 9, 2013 (edited) I was very disappointed the elitists in WH forced the community to join an exclusive board available only to members in their subdivision mainly due to the immediate alert when our local community was under siege....Gimme da scoop! I'd love to hear about this BB. If you are referring to NextDoor, that site is open to Woodland Heights and all the small, contiguous subdivisions along with Norhill, North Norhill and East Norhill, so it encompasses a huge area with thousands of homes and highly variable demographics. The Urgent Alerts are used regularly and are very effective. It's a no-brainer for the Houston Heights Association to form another NextDoor site and affiliate with all the others. But no doubt the HHA is too busy spying on its members' home improvements plans and thinks this interweb thing is a passing fad, because dagnamit, we didn't need it in 1920!. Edit: In addition to the above neighborhoods, Montie Beach, Brookesmith, First Ward and Houston Heights East have all formed affilliated NextDoor sites. I can Turn On or Turn Off posts/threads for any or all nearby neighborhoods depending on how elite I feel that day. Edited September 9, 2013 by fwki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverJK Posted September 9, 2013 Share Posted September 9, 2013 I live in Woodland Heights and have no clue what this is... give you give more details? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fwki Posted September 9, 2013 Share Posted September 9, 2013 (edited) Here's the site.... https://whca.nextdoor.com/news_feed/ If you PM me your email I will send an invite....just noted that the site now has 966 members. Edited September 9, 2013 by fwki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3mh Posted September 9, 2013 Share Posted September 9, 2013 We need more police presence and more vigilant neighbors that actually are aware of who lives next to, across the street and behind them. We also need a communication strategy to keep residents informed. The availability of social media for the local neighborhood is virtually non-existent with the exception of a few general boards. I would gladly pay dues to the HHA if they had a neighborhood bulletin board with alerts. The constable program is an attempt but I truly believe "the feet on the ground" can be much more efficient in dettering hoodlum crime and vandalism as it occurs.I was very disappointed the elitists in WH forced the community to join an exclusive board available only to members in their subdivision mainly due to the immediate alert when our local community was under siege. It also served as a reminder to always be alert and all types of crimes were posted. We did not have to wait for the "if it bleeds it leads" stories to wake us from our gentrified slumber.https://www.facebook.com/HoustonCrimeAlerts This one has been pretty good about getting out the word on crime in the Heights even though it is open to all inner loop neighborhoods. There are also "nextdoor" boards for the east and west sides of the Heights that are pretty good tools for communicating with neighbors about suspicious vehicles, etc. HHA is too slow to get anything done to expect them to take advantage of social media. They have done a decent job communicating with HPD and CM Cohen about the rise in crime. The folks who really need to get on social media are HPD and the constables. Why in the world wouldn't they set up FB pages/message boards with residents or have some sort of text message alert for residents? I mean, I can find out what Miley Cyrus is doing just about every minute of the day via Twitter but have no way to find out that the police are looking for an axe murderer down the street from me. I have heard about some other cities that have had a lot of success enabling 911 to receive pictures via text. Police are able to get a photo ID of a perp in real time instead of just a verbal description. All the HPD/Constable patrol vehicles are already set up with lap tops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksmu Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 Another robbery at gunpoint....There is no doubt the criminals are getting bolder. Will be interesting to find out if the woman was a small business owner who was just closing up (and likely carrying cash), or if she was just someone out late, making herself an easy target. http://www.khou.com/news/local/Robbers-follow-Heights-woman-home-from-work-223108041.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverJK Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 How is there not a detailed description of the robbers, that makes no sense whatsoever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fwki Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 How is there not a detailed description of the robbers, that makes no sense whatsoever. Masks according to the report....and they must be using sign language because certain dialects are easy to identify, not that there's anything wrong with that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverJK Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 Masks don't cover Height and Build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCR Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 Edge of the Heights between Durham and Shepherd. An easy getaway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGM Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 How is there not a detailed description of the robbers, that makes no sense whatsoever.Because the real crime that everyone is seeking to avoid is not armed robbery, it's the possibility that a reporter might be called a racist. Nevermind the fact that assuming that a group matching a suspect's ethnicity would automatically find fault with using identifying descriptors is racist in itself.Most of these reports have less to do with catching criminals and more to do with formatting pages with dummy text. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksmu Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 2001 Lincoln LS - I can pretty much sketch the offenders just by knowing what they drove. Political correctness has run amok! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGM Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 2001 Lincoln LS - I can pretty much sketch the offenders just by knowing what they drove. Political correctness has run amok!Based on my parents electrical nightmare experience on theirs I would say the suspects picked the wrong getaway car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3mh Posted September 10, 2013 Share Posted September 10, 2013 http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Tension-follows-rash-of-home-invasions-by-masked-2293056.php There have been a couple of incidents of people getting followed from the Kroger at 20th and robbed in their driveway. And there were a bunch of driveway robberies in Oak Forrest. But, this sounds more like the perps are looking for a big stash of cash. It sounds a lot like what the perps in the article above were doing a few years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicMan Posted September 11, 2013 Share Posted September 11, 2013 If someone follows you, drive to the police station and the perps will be scared away. http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Tension-follows-rash-of-home-invasions-by-masked-2293056.php There have been a couple of incidents of people getting followed from the Kroger at 20th and robbed in their driveway. And there were a bunch of driveway robberies in Oak Forrest. But, this sounds more like the perps are looking for a big stash of cash. It sounds a lot like what the perps in the article above were doing a few years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverJK Posted September 11, 2013 Share Posted September 11, 2013 The one time I was ever followed I made a couple of lefts in the neighborhood (obviously making a circle) and the people stopped following me. (they must have realized that I knew they were following me). If you ever feel like you are being followed make a block in neighborhood and if they are still following you find help. At night there are almost always police officers at Andy's on 11th, or Valero on Studewood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkultra25 Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 Armed robbery at the credit union on 19th yesterday afternoon: http://www.theleadernews.com/?p=12409 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGM Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 I guess they didn't get the memo that 19th street is a walkable paradise since they left in a Buick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksmu Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 We are really on one heck of a crime spree recently. At some point hpd is going to have to step it up or us residents are going to have to start doing it ourselves. I would think hpd would prefer we not go vigilante to prevent another Zimmerman style problem....but enough is enough, and we've had enough! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J008 Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 We are really on one heck of a crime spree recently. At some point hpd is going to have to step it up or us residents are going to have to start doing it ourselves. I would think hpd would prefer we not go vigilante to prevent another Zimmerman style problem....but enough is enough, and we've had enough! Vigilante? I thought it was self defense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverJK Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 North side of 11th is trying to be like the south side of 11th... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3mh Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 We are really on one heck of a crime spree recently. At some point hpd is going to have to step it up or us residents are going to have to start doing it ourselves. I would think hpd would prefer we not go vigilante to prevent another Zimmerman style problem....but enough is enough, and we've had enough! The theft stats did spike, but the other stats are just starting to creep in the wrong direction. There is no big crime spree. But, this is definitely the time for HPD to keep this area from becoming a hot spot. I have heard that CM Cohen has received a lot of complaints on crime and HPD is supposed to be adjusting patrols to give the Heights more attention. HPD did catch all of the guys who robbed the Denny's over by Memorial Park and I-10. HPD is actually a pretty effective police force once they get on it. The problem has been that they have looked the other way in the Heights and blamed residents' carelessness for the increased property crime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverJK Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 Yeah, it really ticks me off when someone says the victim is to blame for leaving valuables in their car... I've heard people say it was their own fault and etc. and that is just rediculous. It is always the theif's fault. It sucks that we have to be carefull with hiding or not leaving valuables in our vehicles but in what world is it not the theifs fault? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little frau Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 I have a neighbor that sometimes leaves his vehicle on the street overnight. He never leaves anything in it, valuable or not. But, he always leaves the doors unlocked. So far, he's not been robbed or vandalized. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksmu Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 Vigilante? I thought it was self defense? The shooting itself was self defense, the need for the neighborhood watch was due to lack of police response and a vigilante neighborhood watchman. The same situation is present now. We have a need that is not being filled and a population that is getting frustrated to the point of taking matters into their own hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGM Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 I have a neighbor that sometimes leaves his vehicle on the street overnight. He never leaves anything in it, valuable or not. But, he always leaves the doors unlocked. So far, he's not been robbed or vandalized.I have a childhood friend who voluntarily gave his lunch money to the school bully, and you know what, he never once was beaten up. Granted he is now an alcoholic who still lives with parents, but it's better to roll over and submit, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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