Newsletter readers: To view charts of crime stats please visit this article on the WHCA website.
We see a spike in crime every December. For January, theft from vehicles accounted for 10 of the 14 reported crimes. Please don’t leave valuables in your car – especially at local businesses. Burglaries: residence 1400 block of Wrightwood, residence 400 block of Teetshorn, building 800 block of Wendel.
WHCA Crime Statistics
The City of Houston lags in releasing summary monthly crime stats. To stay more current and to get details for our neighborhood, about once a week I monitor daily crime reports, and accumulate information to arrive at the crime data presented here. In mid-January, the city adopted a new service for crime reporting, CrimeReports. In some ways it’s better than what they had, but it is now too cumbersome for me to identify total monthly crimes for police beat 2A30. My reports will no longer compare our WHCA data to the entire police beat 2A30 that includes WHCA and the Heights.
WHCA Constable Patrol Statistics
We remind everyone for a crime in progress, please call 911 first, principally because we do not have 24/7 deputy coverage. If our deputies are on duty, they should be monitoring those calls, though you can also call Precinct One dispatch after calling 911 for crimes in progress.
The Constable Patrol operates on a fiscal year ending March 31. A few of you have already renewed for 2016/2017, and we will be starting our annual membership campaign in March. Please continue to support the Constable Patrol.
Our deputies are motivated to keep the neighborhood safe. One lap around the perimeter of our neighborhood is a bit over 3 miles, and there are approximately 2,500 homes, so there is a lot of ground to cover. Feedback from you is an important tool, so please do not hesitate to call Precinct One if you see something that doesn’t seem right.
Our deputies come to work in our neighborhood, and remain through their shift, unless they are called to respond to a nearby contract. The deputies spend their shift cruising the neighborhood. When they stop to look at something or take some action, they keep a log, so we have a general idea of their activities. For January 2016 here is some of their activity:
| Number | Activity |
| 17 | Traffic stops, resulting in 5 citations. The deputies have radar and use it to monitor speeds in areas where there are complaints, and they pay particular attention to speeds in school zones; the stops this month were throughout the neighborhood, with the majority being on Bayland and Studewood. |
| 10 | Suspicious person call responses. |
| 2 | Responses to calls about (door to door) solicitors (we usually have 8-10 per month). |
| 10 | Suspicious vehicle call responses (plus 2 abandoned vehicle calls). |
| 41 | Number of times they stopped to check something in the parks (mostly along White Oak, Stude and Usener). |
| 205 | Number of times they stopped to check something in the neighborhood (not otherwise included in these statistics). |
| 9 | House alarm responses. |
| 8 | Miscellaneous: responses to traffic issues (2), various disturbances/loud noise, gunshots, mischief (5), investigating open door (1) |
| 75 | “Meet the Citizen” – this is a conversation with a member of the neighborhood in a fashion that’s not covered above, (e.g. to introduce themselves or to answer a question). Our deputies are very service oriented, so if you see a deputy and have a question, or just want to say hello please flag them down. |
If you have any questions please get in touch.
Steve Howard
WHCA, Security
security@woodland-heights.org