School starts on Wednesday. Our board has worked for years to help with school traffic and field complaints and look for solutions. Last year we worked with Klein PD to help correct the drop off/pick up process at Theiss with some success. We also have worked with the administration of both schools, the Klein PD, Harris county and the Sherriff’s office on solutions. At a certain point, we have to ask everyone driving around the schools during those times to use better judgement.
Please slow down, make lots of rooms for walkers and bike riders, and avoid the school areas if you don’t need to be there. For those homeowners that have kids using their yards to stay safe, please be kind even if you are asking them not to. Everyone responds better to kind requests than shouting and aggressiveness. Below are the areas we see the most issues with parking on the street, impatient driving, etc.
PLEASE DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE, BREAK TRAFFIC LAWS! Just wait, don’t drive on the wrong side of the road. Your lack of patience could seriously harm or kill someone. Please direct communication to the office of each school and the Klein ISD Police Department.
Theiss: (832) 484-5900 Doors Open: 7:45 am Dismissal: 3:25 pm Doerre: (832) 249-5700 Doors Open: 8:30 am Dismissal: 4:05 pm
Alert: We are still seeing the normal trend of a small number of vehicle break ins that we warned about earlier in the year. This trend persists during the summers and has been very similar to numbers and patterns we have seen for the last few years. We have seen an increase in thefts of car parts, especially catalytic converters (not just on Cadillacs). The advice and best plan of action remains to park your vehicles in the driveway, or even better in the garage, remove valuables, and lock them.
Diving in to the numbers: Our statistics remain very normal and low on all accounts. Unfortunately, we also had abnormally low traffic citations. This is disappointing and I have addressed the issue with the contract sergeant and directly with our contract deputies. There are a few reasons that are evident for this degradation in service: We had 2/3 of our deputies take promotions and they were replaced. The new members of the team were getting their bearings, learning the neighborhood, and getting to know how our priorities align with those of their department. There were some scheduling difficulties assigning deputies and we had coverage from district coverage deputies who are not regulars in our community. The important thing to know is that we have been monitoring the behavior and corrections are being made. We should see an improvement in these priorities by the end of this month and have our traffic enforcement back to normal levels. We hope to improve those levels from the old baseline as we await traffic engineering changes from the county.
Again, I want to urge everyone to place recording video cameras on the properties and make sure that one camera has a good view of the street. These cameras are proving to help deter crime and also solve cases in and around communities like ours. There are quite a few good plug and play options available and you can always ask a neighbor for help.
On a personal note: I would like to thank our newest board member Denise Ostner for volunteering her time as the new Area 5 Director. She is an avid tennis player, long time member of the community, and will do a great job! As per usual she answered my importantly unimportant questions by saying she likes her steak medium-rare and she cooks her brisket by buying it!
Update (08/04/2021) – We had a great meeting of the minds, again, today with our two new deputies. Our new deputies are dedicated to assimilating to our priorities and communications. Most of the stop sign and speeding violations in our boundaries are committed by people who live in Memorial Northwest. I recommend avoiding that behavior… – RAA
May security stats and what we are seeing so far in June are showing exactly what was predicted in last month’s blog from the rolling 48 month historical data:
– Vehicles that are left on the street, unlocked, or with valuables inside are being burglarized and vandalized at a higher rate than the last 9 months. It would be best to remove valuables, move the vehicles off the street, and securely lock the vehicles.
– Suspicious vehicles are being reported more often in the neighborhood, most likely because of the differing traffic patters and people visiting residents.
-Traffic stops have increased due to additional vehicles speeding and not obeying traffic signals. Please watch out for this additional hazard during these summer months. Our officers are doing their best to balance addressing this issue with other higher priority events.
Unfortunately, this activity happens around the same time each year for many reasons. Our officers are aware of these issues and are working to help mitigate the frequency and apprehend perpetrators. The quote “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” comes to mind. Remember to secure your belongings and vehicles, lock up tools and ladders that could be used for mischief, and take proper steps to prepare your property when leaving for a vacation. If you have not already, please install a recording security camera at your home to aid our officers with good information should something happen at your home or those around you.
I hope all have a happy and safe Independence Day and look forward to the events planned at the community center July 3rd!
The last two months show the value of living in our community. Our activity numbers show some changes, but as a community, our collective and inherent desire for peace and harmony in our homes and our community continues to keep our activity low. As always, activity does not correlate with severity and each event requires our sympathy for the deep and lasting impact it can have on the lives of those involved. We also want to do all we can to mitigate losses, damage, and harm and there are a few key things you can do in the coming months regarding trends that we see this time of year.
First, we did see a marked increase in family disturbance calls with +5 calls in April from a marked lower month than normal in March. We want to encourage those neighbors that witness issues to offer healthy support to their neighbors, when it is wanted, and also stay safe themselves. If you fear for your safety or safety of others, it is best to call 911 right away. We also have seen an increase in “run-aways” which typically does increase toward the end of the school year and as weather improves. Our officers are doing a great job locating these individuals. Lastly, I want to highlight that we did have an increase in reported suspicious persons of +5 events from last month. Looking back over the last three years, this has been a trend each Spring. Perhaps more people are out enjoying the weather, don’t recognize their new neighbors as everyone gets out for a walk, or maybe there really are just more suspicious people in April, May and June.
The coming months also show a trend in three reported areas over the last 36 months. The biggest spike we see is in traffic stops in the summer. We also see an increase, as stated above, in suspicious vehicles and persons. The last category we all need to address is parked vehicle related events. Our reported vehicle theft numbers and vehicle burglary numbers are very low (less than 10 are reported each year), the biggest spike in these events is in May, Jun, and July. The likelihood of your vehicle being burglarized in your driveway is 20 times less likely than if it is parked on the street and 60 times less likely if it is in your garage. The best plan is to lower risk of loss by protecting your vehicles and removing all valuables from them if they are not secured in your garage.
Update: We received communication back from the county regarding the traffic study on Champion Forest Drive. The project has not been finalized and could change between now and the bidding process. The project is scheduled to go out for bid in the Spring of 2022. Until the project is finalized, there is nothing accurate to report. My personal feeling is that until the project is completed, anything can change with a government project.
Finally, we continue to see traffic safety and EMS issues with vehicles being parked on the street. Though these are county roads, some may take the position that there is a contractual obligation to follow the deed restrictions. The deed restrictions state that parking on the street is very time limited and should not occur on a daily basis. Vehicles parked on the street can impede EMS/Firefighters from reaching a property quickly and more importantly life saving time. Vehicles parked on the street also decrease line of sight and cause pedestrians to be more difficult to see. I plan to move forward working with our board toward enforcing our deed restriction reasonably. I recommend homeowners begin practicing safe parking practices as soon as possible.
This month I am glad to report that our activity statistics from January 2021 (because of the short month, stats from February have not been released) have not shown an increase in activity of concern. We did see domestic disturbance calls decrease from the month before by a couple of calls. We also had a good number of traffic initiative events and traffic stops in the neighborhood as our officers patrolled. Traffic initiative is a code that indicates our officers were making a concerted effort to monitor traffic issues in problem areas and are separate events from a traffic stop. Traffic stops occur during regular patrols in the neighborhood. Please keep in mind, officers have been instructed by Sheriff Ed Gonzalez to maintain social distancing and take health precautions since March of 2020. This means that officers have been instructed to decide if a violation is minor enough to just flash their lights as a warning or make a stop. This is not a choice of our Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs).
Aside from the reported numbers in January, we had a very concerning event happen in February. Two suspects are accused of committing multiple offenses in our neighborhood that included breaking into vehicles, abduction, and armed robbery. This is very concerning and the neighbors involved did the right thing to protect themselves and stayed as composed as possible. I want to thank their neighbors and community who surrounded them with comfort and care and aided officers in their investigation. One of the victims has remained private about the event. The other has given our officers praise and has expressed their deep felt thanks to the Harris County Sheriff’s department. The two suspects have been apprehended and have been accused of serious crimes from that evening outside of our neighborhood as well as in it. You can read more about this event here.
Limited resources are a constant challenge when trying to accomplish goals. We have people that speed through our neighborhood and we have people who roll stop signs, we always have and we always will. We do have to make a choice and trust our LEOs and their acumen and experience. Rolling or running stop signs is a concern and so is speeding, but if we have to choose running traffic over the safety and security of our neighborhood in other ways; we must use our resources wisely. I think most would agree that returning a troubled youth who has run away from home is more important that stopping every person going 35 in a 30. I think most of us would agree that it is more important to stop domestic violence than stopping everyone for rolling a stop sign. Ideally, we would all make complete stops and drive responsibly. We could hire another 40 hours of service from HCSO or PCT4 for around $70 per household in our HOA per year, but I don’t know that this would drive down our already very low statistics. Perhaps we should put it to a neighborhood wide vote?
Our officers are just flat out amazing! Our officers continue to show their professionalism and dedication to our neighborhood. Throughout the last year they have been in and out of isolations from COVID-19 exposure, taking care of their families, never missing a beat, and always covering their shifts with help. Our offices have helped runaways find their way home, families resolve issues and challenges, and addressed issues quickly and safely. They continue though to give credit to the great families and neighbors who make good decisions, look out for each other, and are kind to them as they do their work. You may have seen quite a few HCSO vehicles in and out of our neighborhood and some parked at our clubhouse. Because of the pandemic, our HOA opened our facility to officers in the area as a refuge to use the restroom, eat their meals, do reports, and collaborate during their shifts. This has increased presence in our neighborhood and built our reputation among the HCSO office as the best neighborhood in the area on contract.
On a personal note: I want to thank Victor for serving as Treasurer this last year and always making sure we have funds to keep our officers in contract and for being a great and positive influence on our community. I also want to thank Stephanie for volunteering for the position for the foreseeable future and I know she will do a stellar job as she has on the ACC committee. She also answered my light hearted BBQ qualifying questions properly at our March board meeting, just as did Victor, Matt, and Erik did at their appointment votes. How do you like your steak? “Medium-rare.” Do you cook your brisket low and slow or hot and fast? “Low and slow.” These obviously correct answers only add to her many qualifications. (I love BBQ, LOL!)
*With support of the board of directors, we have chosen not to provide numerical statistics because this website is public. We also do not publish our contract schedule because it could be used nefariously and it may or may not be constantly changing.
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