s3mh Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 I once stood outside that station (yes, during business hours) for a solid half hour, banging on the door/windows. I called the main station downtown, and they didn't even have a current phone number for the substation. The number on the door didn't work. There were 9 cop cars parked outside.They store vehicles at that location. There are always cop cars parked there day and night. I have been to that station twice and never had a problem. Walked right in and was treated well by the officer on duty. I am sure there are times when staffing is short and they need officers on the street instead of behind a desk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Whole lot easier to...1) Call 9112) Call 713.884.3131, if not an emergency (Reporting a burglary is an emergency)3) File an online report for Theft or Criminal Mischief http://www.houstontx.gov/police/online_report.htm4) Report suspicious activity online http://www.houstontx.gov/police/alert_slip/5) Or, if you are homeless, do not have email or a phone, you can go to the storefront on 11th and Shepherd. Those with a job and a place to live might find it more convenient to just call it in. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3mh Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Whole lot easier to...1) Call 9112) Call 713.884.3131, if not an emergency (Reporting a burglary is an emergency)3) File an online report for Theft or Criminal Mischief http://www.houstontx...line_report.htm4) Report suspicious activity online http://www.houstontx...ice/alert_slip/5) Or, if you are homeless, do not have email or a phone, you can go to the storefront on 11th and Shepherd. Those with a job and a place to live might find it more convenient to just call it in.Calling 911 is fine for when someone gets inside your house and takes stuff. But for the myriad of other property crimes (bike stolen off porch, car opened, window broken, etc.), calling 911 takes officers away from more important work. The non-emergency line will get you a response time of somewhere between 2-12 hours, if at all (never got a response on a noise complaint). And if you are not home when they eventually show up, tough luck. Online reports are fine, but there is a real benefit to going in person and speaking with an officer face to face. Cops are people too. If you want them to look out for the neighborhood, take a few minutes to stop by and meet them in person when you have an issue. The cops can also give you good information if you meet them in person that you cannot get filling out a report online. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heights_yankee Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Yeah, I think it's kind of silly to report anything like this until there are more details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heights Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 (edited) Calling 911 is fine for when someone gets inside your house and takes stuff. But for the myriad of other property crimes (bike stolen off porch, car opened, window broken, etc.), calling 911 takes officers away from more important work. The non-emergency line will get you a response time of somewhere between 2-12 hours, if at all (never got a response on a noise complaint). And if you are not home when they eventually show up, tough luck. Online reports are fine, but there is a real benefit to going in person and speaking with an officer face to face. Cops are people too. If you want them to look out for the neighborhood, take a few minutes to stop by and meet them in person when you have an issue. The cops can also give you good information if you meet them in person that you cannot get filling out a report online.9-1-1 and 713-884-3131 will get you to the same person for police services. The difference is that 9-1-1 will be answered by a 9-1-1 operator ("Houston 9-1-1, do you need police, fire, or ambulance?") who will then connect you to a police (or fire/ems) calltaker directly. These same calltakers are the ones that answer 713-884-3131, but at that number you will first receive a recorded message and then queue for an available police calltaker (behind any incoming 9-1-1 calls). Calling 9-1-1 when there is no emergency may delay another caller (who does have an emergency) from reaching a calltaker, but it will not "take officers away from more important work."The response priority depends on the type of call, not whether you called 9-1-1 or 713-884-3131. The response time depends on the response priority and available staffing.Burglary reports will generally require an on-scene response. Edited August 2, 2012 by heights Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 This is entirely correct. Nothing occurs in a storefront meeting that is any more efficient use of police time than an officer showing up at the house, and in fact, if the officer takes the report at the storefront, any opportunity for the officer to observe the crime scene for evidence or clues is lost. And, having an officer take a report at the storefront takes him away from just as much "more important work" as him showing up at your house. The difference is that the officer shows up at your house when he is not required to respond to higher priority calls, whereas if you show up at the storefront, he is forced to stay and listen to you until you leave. Making reports at the storefront actually COULD keep police from "more important work".Calling in your report allows Dispatch to prioritize the calls. Showing up at the storefront simply allows one to feed his ego by making the police take the report when you want them to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fwki Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 In Regulatory Land those storefronts are actually historical police stations with Andy and Barney chewing the fat waiting for Gomer to show up with a report that Wally's filling station had been burgularized, which is a much better method than distracting Sarah who should be on call for more important work like busting Otis' supplier. Of course the real reason Gomer goes to the station instead calling it in is that he hopes to be deputized by Barney to assist in rooting out COA violators since his "Citizen's Arrest" authority is lame at best. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3mh Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 This is entirely correct. Nothing occurs in a storefront meeting that is any more efficient use of police time than an officer showing up at the house, and in fact, if the officer takes the report at the storefront, any opportunity for the officer to observe the crime scene for evidence or clues is lost. And, having an officer take a report at the storefront takes him away from just as much "more important work" as him showing up at your house. The difference is that the officer shows up at your house when he is not required to respond to higher priority calls, whereas if you show up at the storefront, he is forced to stay and listen to you until you leave. Making reports at the storefront actually COULD keep police from "more important work".Calling in your report allows Dispatch to prioritize the calls. Showing up at the storefront simply allows one to feed his ego by making the police take the report when you want them to.The whole point of the storefront station is to have an officer available during business hours to take reports from the public. There is no reason for HPD to be paying a premium for storefront locations other than to put officers closer to the public so the public can interact with the public. Meeting face to face goes a long way. Someone has been steeling expensive planters off of porches recently in the Heights. By the time someone sitting at a desk pushing a pencil taking in the online reports figures out that there is a pattern, everyone's porches will be bare of foliage. But, if everyone goes down to the 11th st station, the odds are much better that the guy on desk duty is going to figure out that someone is up to something and get the word out to adjust the patrols 100x faster than it would take to divine that information out of the piles of online reports. I actually experienced this first hand. I went in to report someone who popped the locks on my car and rifled through everything. The guy at the station said a couple people came in with the same report that day and he would get patrols out to try to catch the guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fwki Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 ...The guy at the station said a couple people came in with the same report that day and he would get patrols out to try to catch the guy.Then they promptly went back to playing checkers with Floyd. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalai Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 Do what I did. Get a 90lb German Shepherd from http://www.ghgsdr.org/ and spend a few weeks training her.Best security system out there and she's a great family member too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted August 4, 2012 Share Posted August 4, 2012 Do what I did. Get a 90lb German Shepherd from http://www.ghgsdr.org/ and spend a few weeks training her.Best security system out there and she's a great family member too.Great suggestion. GSDs are wonderful dogs. Of course, I've found that a boxer found on the corner with no tags can be turned into a respectable guard dog as well.After reading all of the helpful hints on this subject, I have decided......that I would not go to the storefront on a bet. While I am quite sure that s3mh has researched this matter, and is an expert on police patrol priorities, my conversations with police officers who patrol the Heights (and elsewhere) indicates that reports to storefronts do not get quicker responses. I could go into the money HPD spent on computer software for determining hotspots for increased patrols, but the reality is that no one cares, and s3mh wouldn't believe it anyway. He believes people still push pencils. And, thefts from porches get very low priority. All a face to face meeting gets is an officer's promise to "increase patrols" in the area. Isn't that the response to every homeowner's question? What authority does that desk jockey at the storefront have to "increase patrols"? None.But, it is reassuring to some to hear him say it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
innerlooper Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 There is a guy in a white Chevy minivan who slowly cruises the Blvd, up and down, between 5:45 and 6:45 am apparently ogling the joggers. He's been doing this for a month or more. He's been seen at the Nicholson bike trail also. 55-60, anglo, smoker, shoulder length hair, deep wrinkles. This is weekdays and weekends. HPD has been alerted (by others) but don't know if they actually have made contact with him. Last four digits of plate are -X802.Updates welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 If he was cruising in a Carrerra 4s, nobody would mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 (edited) I'm confused. Has a crime been committed? If so, then you'd best lock me up and throw away the key. Edited August 18, 2012 by TheNiche 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
innerlooper Posted August 18, 2012 Share Posted August 18, 2012 Oh that was you Niche, OK, no problem. No crime. Just creepy behavior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 No crime as long as he's not continuously following any particular person. Still some creepy behavior to be aware of, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samagon Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 I hope he doesn't shift from creepy Stalker to criminal activity. Granted hw should set his creep factor higher and sit on a park bench with score cards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGM Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 (edited) As long as it's not this one. Edited August 19, 2012 by TGM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sifuwong Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 (edited) There is a guy in a white Chevy minivan who slowly cruises the Blvd, up and down, between 5:45 and 6:45 am apparently ogling the joggers. He's been doing this for a month or more. He's been seen at the Nicholson bike trail also. 55-60, anglo, smoker, shoulder length hair, deep wrinkles. This is weekdays and weekends. HPD has been alerted (by others) but don't know if they actually have made contact with him. Last four digits of plate are -X802. Updates welcome. Just pull a George Zimmerman... Edited August 20, 2012 by sifuwong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGM Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 Just pull a George Zimmerman... I would recommend some forthought before someone rushes out and takes the law into their own hands. How would it look in court if someone was shot with a modern weapon in the Historic Heights? Seriously, the partial plate # should be enough for HPD to determine who this is. All a confrontation will do is drive the guy into hiding for the next few months, which won't really help anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
innerlooper Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 I was thinking more "Kitty Genovese" and less "George Zimmerman".....Nothing has happened so this guy should have the benefit of the doubt. But can't hurt to pay attention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverJK Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 threaten him with a machete already... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksmu Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 I was thinking more "Kitty Genovese" and less "George Zimmerman".....Nothing has happened so this guy should have the benefit of the doubt. But can't hurt to pay attention.Is he driving around with only one hand on the wheel? Just wondering.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J008 Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 There is a guy in a white Chevy minivan who slowly cruises the Blvd, up and down, between 5:45 and 6:45 am apparently ogling the joggers. He's been doing this for a month or more. He's been seen at the Nicholson bike trail also. 55-60, anglo, smoker, shoulder length hair, deep wrinkles. This is weekdays and weekends. HPD has been alerted (by others) but don't know if they actually have made contact with him. Last four digits of plate are -X802.Updates welcome.Thanks for posting. It is really helpful to know. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heightsite Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 Posted from another website...Dead blue jay collected from Helen St. between Woodland and Euclid this a.m. (yesterday). Looked like a perfect West Nile specimen based on my past experience with them.  Mosquito control has been called Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTAWACS Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 Good luck buddy... good eye. Let's hope WN does not get out of hand this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGM Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 Time to stock up on Schweppes Tonic Water.... just in case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fwki Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 Time to stock up on Schweppes Tonic Water.... just in case.and some Beefeater Gin, unless you don't like gin, then you can get Bombay Sapphire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGM Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 and some Beefeater Gin, unless you don't like gin, then you can get Bombay Sapphire.Bombay Sapphire is only effective on the East Nile Virus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fwki Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 Well that explains it. Charlie told me Saturday that Blue Jays been in and out of there all day looking for Bombay Sapphire, whereas for your common Grackle, it's strictly speed rack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.