Crime In The Heights

[AtticaFlinch]

I agree. Minor accidents can be reported by filling out a Citizen's Accident report (or something like that -- I think they call it a Blue Form) -- no police officer necessary. Minor thefts and property crimes and lost wallets, etc. can be reported on the internet.

And Attica, let's suppose HPD employs 5000 peace officers. About 1500 of those are supervisors that do not respond to calls in the field (they just made ANOTHER Assistant Chief who will require a bunch of people for support staff). There are probably at least 1000 officers assigned to non patrol positions (investigators, jail, community services, support positions, traffic enforcement, helicopters, training academy, etc.).

So lets say HPD has 2500 patrol officers. Each patrol officer is assigned to work about 2080 hours per year, but when you take out 10 holidays, 20 training days, and (at least) 15 vacation/sick days per year, that leaves 1680 hours. So the patrol officers have a total manpower of 4.2 million manhours per year. Divide that by the number of actual hours in a year (8760) and that tells you that at any given time there are an average of 479 patrol officers on the street.

Divide that into about 2.2 million residents and you'll see that EACH patrol officer is responsible for responding to the current needs of nearly 4600 residents.

Sure there are people that will go their entire lives without ever calling the police, but there are people that have so much drama in their lives they call the police every day.

And I just realized that I actually seem to agree with RedScare on something.

So, considering the resource is so scarce, and the necessary time needed to commit to the citizens of the city is so high, perhaps we do agree that having the cops waste time handing out minor traffic tickets is unnecessary? I'm glad you and I could find something to agree on too.

[Ross]

So, considering the resource is so scarce, and the necessary time needed to commit to the citizens of the city is so high, perhaps we do agree that having the cops waste time handing out minor traffic tickets is unnecessary? I'm glad you and I could find something to agree on too.

I would be much happier if they handed out tickets in a more widespread manner, rather than sitting at the end of freeway off ramps writing up people doing 50 when they hit the feeder. How about the police do some real public safety traffic work, like pulling over all those overloaded trailers with the wheels pointing in at the eop, or the overloaded pickups with AC's and ductwork in them. Or the morons driving 30 on the North Freeway while they yak away on their cell phones.

[Jesse]

So, considering the resource is so scarce, and the necessary time needed to commit to the citizens of the city is so high, perhaps we do agree that having the cops waste time handing out minor traffic tickets is unnecessary? I'm glad you and I could find something to agree on too.

But, for the most part (yes, generalization coming up), most moving violations are handled during the day, and most violent crimes are handled at night. I really doubt there's a whole lot of overlap going on, when a cop won't respond to an armed burglary call instead of parking himself around a hidden corner at 2pm.

Edited September 28, 2009 by Jesse

[samiamj]

This was forwarded to the Heights Storefront from one of our P.I.P.

members. Please forward this information to your neighbors and have

them be on the look out. We have been having a rash of solicitors

who appear to be bogus in the area lately. With the economic times

getting tougher on some they may be forced to look for money in ways

which is not appropriate.

Please advise everyone that if a solicitor comes to their door, they

do not have to open the door. They can either tell them to leave

without opening the door or just ignore them! If the solicitor

refuses to leave call the police at 713-884-3131!

Houston Police Heights Storefront

1127 N. Shepherd

Houston, Texas 77008

Phone (713) 803-1151

Fax (713) 803-1155

"Please beware of anyone asking for money for Special Olympics. My

mom who lives on 9th and Cortlandt in the original Houston Heights was

approached this past weekend. She called the non-profit orgazniation

and they said they do not go out and solicit!!!! If you see this

person please call the police. Here's the stats:

White male

fair skinned

20-25 years old

5'10" 150lbs

red baseball hat (no logo)

wearing an oversized orange polo shirt

faded short jeans

white socks

white tennis shoes

carrying a bottle of water

He claims he has a son who is in these Olympics and said he lives at

1208 Oxford and there is no such address.

[RedScare]

Yup, came by my house a few days ago. I told him I had no cash (which was true at the time), but the reality is that I do not give money to telephone or door to door solicitors. I frankly do not care who they are collecting for. There is so much opportunity for the money not to make it to the actual charity that I only give to those that are well known and have a respectably low overhead.

You hear that, law enforcement solicitors? No, I do not want to help kids get out of gangs and drugs...not when the overhead cost is 90%!

[AtticaFlinch]

Yup, came by my house a few days ago. I told him I had no cash (which was true at the time), but the reality is that I do not give money to telephone or door to door solicitors. I frankly do not care who they are collecting for. There is so much opportunity for the money not to make it to the actual charity that I only give to those that are well known and have a respectably low overhead.

You hear that, law enforcement solicitors? No, I do not want to help kids get out of gangs and drugs...not when the overhead cost is 90%!

Not even if they can give you 50% off the cover price of Us Weekly?

[RedScare]

Not even if they can give you 50% off the cover price of Us Weekly?

I may have to reconsider if that is offered.

[JLWM8609]

I'm surprised that in this era, folks still open the door to complete strangers. If I don't know who you are, I'm not opening the door. Opening the door to strangers has resulted in many of the home invasions we've had in our particular area of town. We've probably averted a few home invasions ourselves. They expect you to open the door without asking who it is. Once that question is asked of them, they either make up a sob story on the spot using fake names and fake addresses (once a guy came to our door said he was trying to get money to take a bus to get to 3500 Ardmore, no such address exists), walk away visibly disgusted upon asking who they are, or try to come up with a fake name to which the reply is "wrong house!".

Edited September 29, 2009 by JLWM8609

[heights]

So, considering the resource is so scarce, and the necessary time needed to commit to the citizens of the city is so high, perhaps we do agree that having the cops waste time handing out minor traffic tickets is unnecessary? I'm glad you and I could find something to agree on too.

HPD has a division dedicated to traffic enforcement. They are probably giving out most of the traffic tickets. The patrol officers are out there responding to calls and probably do not have the time to dedicate to writing tickets. But if you do something blatant in front of a patrol officer, I'm sure they would find time to write a ticket. Also, many of the patrol officers that are out in our neighborhoods responding to calls and trying to fight crime probably use traffic stops as a method to get the more hardened criminals (like crackheads that steal from us and gang bangers) off the streets. I was digging through some old articles that indicated that municipal court fines generate around $50 million per year towards the general fund. This pays for a lot of police and fire protection, not just for the officers writing the tickets.

[Yankee_in_TX]

Speaking of.... Does COH require some kind of permit for soliciting money? It seems SO often there are random people collecting at traffic lights. I don't give (except to fire fighters), but SO many people do.....

[daveg]

That same guy (I think?) came to my house also on Michaux and Main. Like redscare, I don't give money to ppl door to door even if it is a cute girl raising money for causes I support.

He said that he lived on 11st street along. I asked him for literature and told him if he came back later I'd donate online to his cause.

The next day or I saw him again while I was hanging out at my friend's house near fiesta.

[LTAWACS]

These clowns just don't stop.

[Jesse]

These clowns just don't stop.

As JLWM8609 said, it's really nice when they get verbally abusive upon hearing that you're not interested. Especially when you try and cut them off during their prepared speech! I don't mean disrespect by interrupting them, but if they're going to waste 5 minutes of my time I might as well save us both 4.5 minutes by explaining I'm not giving out money.

[20thStDad]

As JLWM8609 said, it's really nice when they get verbally abusive upon hearing that you're not interested. Especially when you try and cut them off during their prepared speech! I don't mean disrespect by interrupting them, but if they're going to waste 5 minutes of my time I might as well save us both 4.5 minutes by explaining I'm not giving out money.

I love being mean to people who are asking for things like that, and also telemarketers. But with only cell phones we don't get much telemarketer fun any more.

I think I hate the people who need new band uniforms, every year, 3 times per year, the most. Or the guy driving around the Kroger parking lot begging for gas money to get to Dallas for his kid.

[Jesse]

I love being mean to people who are asking for things like that, and also telemarketers. But with only cell phones we don't get much telemarketer fun any more.

I think I hate the people who need new band uniforms, every year, 3 times per year, the most. Or the guy driving around the Kroger parking lot begging for gas money to get to Dallas for his kid.

I'll usually give them 1 shot at being nice. I'll say, politely, "Thank you but I'm not interested". If they walk away, no harm no foul. If they get b1tchy instead, the gloves come off!

The telemarketers - man, that's a tough one. One the one hand, at least they have a job and are working (albeit for a terrible type of company). On the other hand, well, jeez - it's a tough one... frankly I usually just hang up!

[LTAWACS]

This is good news.

[AtticaFlinch]

I'll usually give them 1 shot at being nice. I'll say, politely, "Thank you but I'm not interested". If they walk away, no harm no foul. If they get b1tchy instead, the gloves come off!

The telemarketers - man, that's a tough one. One the one hand, at least they have a job and are working (albeit for a terrible type of company). On the other hand, well, jeez - it's a tough one... frankly I usually just hang up!

In college, I worked for a company that did telephone surveys. Saying "not interested" was merely an invitation to initiate a conversation and ultimately get them to complete my survey. On the other hand, if they said, "Take me off the list," I'd immediately end the conversation and remove their number from the sample. That's a legal requirement for the company with the second statement. Just for an fyi. If you say that magical combination of words they'll be obligated to never call you back. If you don't, they'll call back again and again and again...

[Mack Tripper]

What am I gonna do with 40 subscriptions to Vibe?

[gto250us]

When telemarkers call I do one of two things. If I have the time I drag the call out and ask alot of stupid questions so that I can waste as much of their time as I can.

Other times I just set the phone down and walk away. I hang up the phone when I here the disconnect screeching sound.

[editor]

Speaking of.... Does COH require some kind of permit for soliciting money? It seems SO often there are random people collecting at traffic lights. I don't give (except to fire fighters), but SO many people do.....

At traffic lights... restricting it would be unconstitutional. Sadly. Door-to-door? Dunno. Don't some cities have soliciting licenses for things like that? Red?

[Porchman]

What am I gonna do with 40 subscriptions to Vibe?

I know. Why don't they have Dwell?!

I will give money to some door-knockers. However, they have to provide a IRS determination letter and, of course, a receipt.

[Jesse]

What am I gonna do with 40 subscriptions to Vibe?

LOL!!! That just made my day

[RedScare]

At traffic lights... restricting it would be unconstitutional. Sadly. Door-to-door? Dunno. Don't some cities have soliciting licenses for things like that? Red?

I don't think many cities would enact an ordinance like that, because it would outlaw all sorts of legitimate sales and marketing. Also, it is probably unconstitutional to prevent people from engaging in legitimate commerce. Now, I know plenty of master planned communities have outlawed door to door sales through their by-laws, but I am unaware of any actual government entities that have done so...not that I have conducted an exhaustive search or anything. Most city ordinances like to keep to locational statutes for safety or other reasons, like editor mentioned, and they almost always limit only begging, not sales.

That being said, how else am I going to get my Tiger Beat subscription renewed?

[Ross]

I don't think many cities would enact an ordinance like that, because it would outlaw all sorts of legitimate sales and marketing. Also, it is probably unconstitutional to prevent people from engaging in legitimate commerce. Now, I know plenty of master planned communities have outlawed door to door sales through their by-laws, but I am unaware of any actual government entities that have done so...not that I have conducted an exhaustive search or anything. Most city ordinances like to keep to locational statutes for safety or other reasons, like editor mentioned, and they almost always limit only begging, not sales.

That being said, how else am I going to get my Tiger Beat subscription renewed?

Pearland requires a permit for door to door soliciting as do other cities. The permit requirements do not apply to religious or political solicitation. The deed restrictions that ban door to door soliciting are completely unenforceable unless the entire subdivision is gated and private, without any public streets or sidewalks. If the streets are public, then the restrictions are only enforceable against residents subject to the restrictions through property ownership. In other words, you can't enforce your DR's against someone who doesn't own property there.

[RedScare]

Pearland requires a permit for door to door soliciting as do other cities. The permit requirements do not apply to religious or political solicitation. The deed restrictions that ban door to door soliciting are completely unenforceable unless the entire subdivision is gated and private, without any public streets or sidewalks. If the streets are public, then the restrictions are only enforceable against residents subject to the restrictions through property ownership. In other words, you can't enforce your DR's against someone who doesn't own property there.

Permits make sense. Outright bans do not. Thanks for schooling the lawyer.

[heights]

Speaking of.... Does COH require some kind of permit for soliciting money? It seems SO often there are random people collecting at traffic lights. I don't give (except to fire fighters), but SO many people do.....

The City of Houston requires persons that are soliciting contributions for charitable purposes (religious or otherwise) to have a certificate of registration. There are two types of certificates: The class-B certificate allows solicitation of charitable contributions from persons other than occupants of vehicles. The door-to-door solicitors would need this type of certificate. There are a few restrictions such as the times of day permitted (not after 9pm).

This next rant is a bit off topic because it doesn't apply to the door-to-door solicitors. The class-A certificate allows solicitation of charitable contributions from occupants of vehicles, but it is so restrictive that it makes it virtually impossible to effectively solicit from occupants of vehicles (which in my mind is a good thing).

For example, those organizations that have class-A certificate (the one for soliciting from occupants of vehicles -- like at intersections) must only solicit from the outside shoulder or sidewalk (they cannot be in the median or in the roadway at any time). They must be within 40-feet of the intersection (that's less than 3 carlengths). They cannot permit persons less than 18 years old to solicit, they must wear high visibility traffic vests and they must have a CPR-certified person present if they have more than 4 persons soliciting at one location. There are also several other minor provisions, as well.

Since they cannot enter the roadway at any time and can't be in the median, a donor could be waving a $100 bill out the driver's window and they cannot go get it. Donors would have to hand the money out the passenger window or the solicitors would have to have a basket on a stick or something.

That being said, not many organizations bother to get the correct registration certificate and even fewer follow the laws regarding the methods of soliciting. Furthermore, bums and homeless people and other persons soliciting funds for their own purposes ("Why lie? I need a beer") can stand in the median but still cannot stand or walk in the roadway.

There is an exception for persons that are employees or agents of the issuing authority (the firefighter exception) and the law does not apply to persons selling newspapers or those only handing out literature but not soliciting or selling any goods or services.

Finally, since the ordinance is so complicated, not many HPD officers are likely to be intimately familiar. They probably wouldn't want to risk getting a complaint from some charity people, either.

I'm not a lawyer, but I have brushed up on the solicitation ordinance because those intersection solicitors really bug me. Here's a link to the city's condensed guidelines: http://www.houstontx.gov/ara/commercial/charitablesolicitation-guidelines.pdf

One other thing -- those people that offer to paint your house number on your curb are supposed to have written permission from the City of Houston to do that.

Edited September 30, 2009 by heights

[LTAWACS]

This sort of thing will continue to get worse, I fear, because of the general state of the economy, and the kinds of jobs in it.

[Heightsite]

Special Olympics Solicitor update...he came by last night, knocked twice and left. Still wearing red ball cap so he's easy to spot.

[EMME]

Two helicopters hovering and I can hear sirens (multiples) Headed that direction. Anybody know what's up?

[Heights CPA]

Two helicopters hovering and I can hear sirens (multiples) Headed that direction. Anybody know what's up?

Bank robbery at Compass Bank.