There has been some discussion and confusion on the regulations in regaurd to golf carts and other slow moving vehicles in the neighborhood. After consulting with HCSO and local court officials we have found no special regulation against the use of slow moving vehicles in the neighborhood. The vehicles are to be driven by a licensed driver and follow all the same behaviors of a street legal vehicle. You must also meet the requirement posted with the state and county for slow moving vehicles that can be found on state and county websites.
Example of a smaller vehicle parking at the back of the parking spot for visibility and safety
When parking around the neighborhood we ask that you park as a regular street legal vehicle. When you park at the community center, you are required to keep the vehicle in the parking lot with the other street legal vehicles and park in a normal parking space. To be clear, golf carts and slow moving vehicles are to stay off the grass and sidewalks on the community center property. If you can park with another cart or slow moving vehicle, please do so. It is also recommended that you park with your vehicle at the back of the parking space. This practice will make sure that all vehicles looking for a parking space see the vehicle and do not attempt to pull into the same space and collide with your cart or slow moving vehicle.
Our Safety and Security team meeting was very productive this
month and is submitting a motion to the board that will enhance our security
contract and schedule to provide more resources during peak hours of activity
using data analysis of statistics from the last 5 years. Our team will continue
to analyze data and respond to real and personally expressed needs and
concerns. People are the most important thing to our community and the numbers
only reflect a measurable way to measure effectiveness of our resources.
Family Focus:Whether your family is big or small; people are the most precious and irreplaceable things in our community. We continue to see that domestic disturbances are the most frequent issues in our neighborhood that our officers respond to. Our daily lives are stressful and there are many conditions, stressors, and other factors that affect us all and our neighbors. It is very important that we recognize this as we all live in close proximity.
“The CDC data indicates that 36% of
women and 29% of men living in the United States have experienced rape,
physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime, and
nearly half of all women and men have experienced psychological battering by an
intimate partner in their lifetime (CDC, 2011).”
Studies have also shown that living in a neighborhood brings in a whole other dynamic of influencers that can have positive or negative affects on the family dynamics. We are lucky to have many resources in our neighborhood to help in these situations if the need arises. One of the best ways we can support someone in need is to connect with them socially in one of the many local organizations such as places of worship, recreations centers, local hospitals and senior organizations, and even our community events. Helping someone feel less isolated can give them a chance to reach out to a healthy person, couple, or group of people for assistance and reassurance. Here are some additional resources available to anyone in our community:
These are just a few resources that you can use to help your
family or your neighbors. In most cases, the behavior that needs to be
addressed will only get worse without professional help and intervention. If
you fear for your life or the life of another, call 911 and tell the dispatch:
I am afraid for my life or the life of someone, please send help now, and
please contact me when it is resolved. In February there were 6 runaway minor
reports and 6 domestic disturbance reports. This is not a significant number of
events, but each event could have a significant impact on someone’s life.
As we
continue to improve, please watch out for each other and our law enforcement
officers. We live in a very safe community and our law enforcement officers and
volunteers in the community are working hard to keep it that way.
The Safety and Security team is continuing to gather together our contacts and resources. We have begun taking on blocks of responsibility in data analysis, coordination with departments, infrastructure improvement requests, and also special projects and initiatives. All efforts are designed to make us safer and more secure. All these efforts by your volunteering neighbors are great, but at the end of the day you have to take responsibility for your own safety. Maintaining your home, lighting, security system, and removing targets and temptations is key.
TIPS & REQUESTS:
Safety tip of the month: We enjoy amazing temperatures in February and March and those New Year Resolutions have many of us working to get steps in. Our streets are dark without street lights, so make sure you wear light colored clothing or high visibility clothes and wear-ables: reflective strips on sneakers, reflective and lit belts, vests, hats, etc. will greatly improve your visibility and safety. But, the best thing you can do along with this is get those steps in with your pet, friend, or just say “mind if I join you for a while” with someone going the same direction. Safety in numbers is huge, and we should encourage our kids to do the same.
Security tip of the month: Studies show that your vehicles is 3 times more likely to be damaged, broken into, or stolen when parked on the street as compared to in your driveway. Your vehicle is 20 times more likely to be involved in this event in the driveway than in the garage or behind a gate. Your vehicle is 60 times safer behind a gate or in the garage than it is in the street. Despite our roads being owned by the county, our tenements ask residents to not park on the street as a higher calling of keeping pedestrians safe and reducing traffic congestion. PLEASE, to prevent loss and to improve safety, AT LEAST PARK IN YOUR DRIVEWAY.
REPORTING & METRICS:
Our reports continue to show the same results, we are very low on crime stats and a very safe neighborhood. Here is the total count of the major categories we track from December 2019. Please keep in mind, these are events and may have not resulted in an actual crime. We continue to see Domestic disputes as the highest frequency. This category does include a multitude of types of issues and is very normal to see in neighborhoods.
Our report shows the annual totals from 2019 remain low compared to the immediate surround neighborhoods and the area within 2 miles. Again, we have a very safe and secure neighborhood. Per lot, you can divide these numbers by roughly 1,950 and find that the likelihood of you experiencing an events is very low.
The reports we receive from the legal department of the HCSO, just like any other agency, are limited in what they can release for many reasons we can’t effect. We are working to gather response time information to further verify we receive the best service available form our contract. At this time we know response times have been superior on several events that took place over the last 60 days, but we want to gain more data on the whole body of their work. Please also note that our reporting will be 60-90 days behind because of the compilation and release of data going through the legal department.
SAFETY OF OUR CHILDREN AND AIDING INVESTIGATIONS WITH TECHNOLOGY:
There was a reported and investigated report of a older white male with grey/white facial hair approaching one of our elementary age students. She did exactly as her parents taught her and made it home safely. Our deputies searched the area immediately after it was reported with extra units. They also spoke with neighbors in the area and requested them to check their security cameras for footage. This again is a great reminder that, if at all possible, we all install a recording surveillance camera that records a full view of the yard and street in front of our homes. HCSO coordinated with KISDPD to have extra units searching for a returning suspect, but more importantly to watch over our students walking home until they could assess the threat. HCSO office notified the HOA the same day and kept us up to date. At this time they believe the suspect was not a regular in our area and hope that he will not return.
Building a team of well informed, experienced, and diverse group of people who care about this community’s safety and security is the key to outstanding outcomes. Our team will provide all the resources available and cooperation we can to whichever law enforcement department is executing our contract. We “Back the Blue” no matter which office they report to and will honor their service while working with them for continuous improvements.
Our committee includes a prior safety and security team lead,
a retired homeowner’s association manager, an original resident with decades of
project management experience, a data analyst, a process management expert, and
a retired law enforcement officer and now law enforcement consultant. Our team
is working as one unit to have collaborative solutions as the Safety and
Security Committee. I am excited about what this committee brings to the
community as a synergistic and diverse group. You will see immediate changes
and improvements that are outlined in our 2020 initiatives over the next 12
months.
What has been happening the last 12 months in 2019? Let’s
look at the numbers that truly do impact quality of life and safety.
Total Reports of Incidents Against Residents (Jan – November 2019)
As you can see from the totals for 11
months (December results are being finalized), our crime rates are extremely
low. This is the total reported incidents of each category. *These incidents
may not have resulted in actual crime.
Taking the highest category at 20 incidents of criminal mischief, this breaks down to 1/98 households have made a call about this in our neighborhood during 2019.
*Pew Research Center has shown that social media users are more aware of crime and this has a compounding negative effect. Negative Synergy shows that the whole is less than the sum of its parts. 250 comments on social media about the same incident skews perceptions of realty and increases fear of crime.
Patterns of Concern (Jan – November 2019)
We found areas of concern and will
follow patterns to direct resources to prevent future occurrences and help
direct agencies and resources to residents to help improve their quality of
life. While the incidents occurring overnight are few, these types of events
demand the quickest response time to prevent harm.
Our
committee continues to focus the schedule of our deputies to make sure that
crime is prevented when it can be, mitigated while in progress, and justice is
served whenever possible. We will coordinate our schedule with surrounding
neighborhoods to maximize the number of LEO’s near our neighborhood.
2020 Safety and Security Initiatives:
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office continues
to provide, at no extra cost, additional deputy sheriffs to patrol Champion
Forest Drive and Theiss Mail Route.
The Harris County Precinct 4 office agreed
to repaint all cross walks on the highest traveled areas.
KISD is being asked to install
bollards around school drives and cross walk waiting areas at our schools.
Safety & Security Summit planning
with key leaders across originations will begin this month.
Educational information will be
provided on a regular basis.
Objective evaluation of accurate data
focused toward key performance indicators will be used to evaluate contract
providers on a regular basis and reported to the board for accountability or
change.
Enhance communication targeting
safety and security concerns and expediting resolutions.
Expect to see continuous improvement and updates on a monthly basis. We live in an extremely safe and enriched community. Please make sure to show appreciation for the men and women who protect and serve us day and night.
11 Holiday Home Security Tips: Preventing Christmas Burglars Whether you’ve finally run out of excuses not to visit your in-laws, or it’s your turn to host this Christmas, the last thing you want to worry about is securing your home over the holidays. But with so many families traveling, thieves are on the prowl now more than ever for vulnerable homes to target. So, how do you make sure your home is safe while discouraging any would-be burglars from trying to break in over Christmas weekend?
1. Make Sure Gifts Aren’t Visible From Outside It’s such a common sight during this time of the year – a frosted window from which you can see a beautiful Christmas tree all lit up, with dozens of gifts underneath it. This sight is enough to make a potential burglar size up your house. With all those gifts in plain sight, how are they supposed to resist? That’s why you need to make sure that your tree and the gifts underneath it are not visible from outside. Remove temptation and you reduce the chances of becoming a burglary victim.
2. Take a break from social media Potential burglars are like hawks on social media. They look through posts seeking out information on the types of gifts people have gotten, or when they plan to leave their homes for Christmas shopping or for vacation. The information you choose to post online can be used against you. Therefore, take care not to post about valuables that may be in your home under the Christmas tree, or when the house will be empty.
3. Be Careful About Disposing of Packaging If you’ve gotten gifts during the holiday season, you may get so caught up with enjoying them that you don’t pay attention to disposing of the packaging. If you put the packaging out in the trash, which will then be sitting by the curb waiting to be picked up, you’re basically telling the whole world what sort of gifts are inside. Burglars are always on the lookout for such garbage items. That’s why you need to be very careful about disposing the packaging.
4. Don’t Run External Lights through a Window Those pretty lights which adorn the exterior of your home need to be plugged in, right? Correct! Just make sure that you don’t run their wires through a window or door leading inside. That little wedge that the wire will leave is all a burglar needs to pry their way in.
5. Make Sure Your Home is Well-Lit Remember, thieves and burglars love operating under the protection of darkness. When visibility is low, they can do whatever they please while knowing that no one will be able to see what they are up to. If your house is well-lit, the chances of any ‘funny business’ taking place on your property are reduced. Make sure you have floodlights or motion activated lighting around the exterior of your home.
6. Put Your Lights on a Timer Another quirk that burglars are known for is getting down the perfect time to break into a home. They do this by waiting for signs of inactivity or absence of occupants. One tell-tale sign that broadcasts that no one is home is when the lights are off. That’s why you should put your Christmas lights, as well as some lights on the interior and exterior of your home on a timer. With these lights on, a burglar won’t feel so sure about the fact that your house is empty.
7. Make Use of Motion Sensors Motion sensors trip when they detect movement around a certain perimeter. They can activate lights, or an alarm. Setting up motion sensors on your property is a good way to effectively deter anyone from breaking into your home.
8. Be Wary of Door to Door Donation Seekers During the holiday season, you’ll have Christmas carolers come to your door, as well as people seeking donations for various charitable causes. The unfortunate thing is that you can’t really be sure about whether these individuals actually do represent the organizations that they claim to. It could be a sham where they try to get some money out of you, or they may carry out some form of a survey from which they can try to determine when would be the best time to break into you home. Caution: Be wary, do not give out any personal information, and don’t give out any money without properly ascertaining their credentials.
9. Secure Your Home Last but not least, make sure your home is secure during the holiday season. Check your windows and doors to make sure all locks are intact. If you don’t have one already, invest in a home security system which will protect your home and your family. Christmas season is a merry and busy time. Unfortunately, burglars and thieves try to cash in on the spoils of the season by burglarizing homes. For this reason, you should take proper steps to ensure that your home is secure from all possible threats. By taking these steps, you can effectively reduce the chances of becoming a victim to a burglary.
10. Lock It Down If you’re going on vacation, some experts recommend keeping a car parked in the driveway so it looks like someone’s home. To prevent your mailbox from overflowing while you’re away, have your mail held until you return.
11. Get Smart If you’ve been wavering on outfitting your home with the latest smart home technology, the holidays could be the perfect time to finally get on board. You’ll have the fun of a new gadget to play with, and the peace of mind that your home has some extra safeguards—even when you can’t be there. The options are virtually endless: Consider a smart doorbell, which detects motion and provides a view of your front door from your smartphone. Want to control your lights with the swipe of a finger? Check out innovations like the Philips Hue smart lightbulbs, which allow you to operate your lighting from anywhere.
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