Crime In The Heights

[Mark F. Barnes]

Also - I really want to clarify that I have no ill feelings towards motorcycles in general and do not want this conversation to turn into that.

Thank you for all of the good suggestions.

I too ride and I go out of my way to be courteous enough to keep the noise to a minimum. I run Vance Hines Drag Pipes on my scooter, and I like the sound of them out on the road, but in a neighborhood I basically idle along and all you hear is the V-Twin lope without a bunch of unnecessary noise. The guy is just being a prick, and needs to be dealt with. Nothing to clarify Northwood, I'd feel the same way.

[TJones]

I ran BUB pipes out the back, and they would wreck your eardrums they were so loud, but I never "revved" going through my neighborhood, that is just rude. I could almost idle to my garage while riding in the neighborhood. I'd shake some car windows when I would ride down 59 on my way to Sam's Boat, no need to rattle my neighbor's windows.

[mkultra25]

Not to deviate from the story but what gets my blood boiling is how motorcycle riders criss-cross about 100 miles an around at the height of rush hour! Whats with that? Do police just turn the other way?

Should I just call 911 to say there is a psycho racing down the frwy and he is about to kill someone? I am so tempted to just swing open my car door so he can smack into it and really become airborne. Of course I would end up playing a harp in heaven next to this moron. Since we brought up the law is that aginst the law? These guys almost hit our cars as they squeeze between the cars.... Advice?

In some states, lanesplitting on a motorcycle is completely legal. Texas is not one of those states, but the way people drive in Houston I'm not sure I'd want to split lanes even if it were legal.

At least, I'm assuming you're talking about lanesplitting (riding between lanes, in effect creating a "lane" where there isn't really one) as opposed to just weaving in and out of traffic.

[TJones]

In some states, lanesplitting on a motorcycle is completely legal. Texas is not one of those states, but the way people drive in Houston I'm not sure I'd want to split lanes even if it were legal.

At least, I'm assuming you're talking about lanesplitting (riding between lanes, in effect creating a "lane" where there isn't really one) as opposed to just weaving in and out of traffic.

No mkultra, I am pretty sure rnsdr is talkin' about weaving in and out while doin' wheelies. I have seen it myself.

[PureAuteur]

http://www.click2houston.com/news/11618734/detail.html

I've never been to Beer Island, but I do go to some of the other places around that intersection. I hope this is just a rare occurrence for the Heights, because these bars are nestled close together with family homes. If it had been gunfire, you'd hate to hear about someone in a nearby home getting shot.

[Vertigo58]

Sadly enough,

As long as you mix tough guys and alcohol this will be the end result. Perfect ingredients for trouble.

There is always going to be a number one tough guy in a crowd especially in a bar. Look what just happend the other day in College Station with those 2 brothers getting in a brawl and one dies. This scene will continue until the end of time I'm afraid. Chalk another one up headed to the big slammer on our expense.

[PureAuteur]

Don't people realize that if they stab someone, they're going to jail? Sometimes if you just fight someone, the worst is that you get kicked out of the bar. It seems as if they're just looking to get killed or put in jail.

[Vertigo58]

Don't people realize that if they stab someone, they're going to jail? Sometimes if you just fight someone, the worst is that you get kicked out of the bar. It seems as if they're just looking to get killed or put in jail.

It has to make one wonder.

If you know you are going into a bar why on earth would you arm yourself?

Answer: The person must be a trouble maker or knows he is walking in with intent to start trouble. Also, he must know he is hated so he cant take a chance being unarmed. Why or who would want to be around people like this? Thats what baffles me. You will go down with them. Like sitting next to the devil. Some women actually get a thrill out of hanging around guys like this?

Police have seen it all we can't fool them. They are trained not only to stop trouble but to see how and why they get lied to after the ruckus and dirt settle. They must go through phsycological training I'm sure. In other words, a cop can just look at you and see if you are lying. Dont even try it just worsens the situation. Trying to be short, but finally, 90% of the time the person is intoxicated and acts on impulse. What people forget too is at a majority of bars/cantinas/beer gardens the crowd & staff know each other quite well. They will side with each other if hell breaks loose, see it on the news all the time. Basically if your the newcomer and get in some crap, chances are your going to loose no matter what the situation was.

All of this has been going on since the end of time.

Relatives on both sides endure the agony for the rest of their lives because of one very selfish act. I have a friend who's family is going through this. You dont want to even know what its like. You could never imagine what an innocent trip to a bar could end up like. now I'm depressed It will pass See!

[RedScare]

^^^^

Dude, what are you smoking? Share with the rest of us.

All of this has been going on since the end of time.

[Howard]

Sometimes if you just fight someone, the worst is that you get kicked out of the bar.

Sometimes... You could go to jail for battery, disturbing the peace, or if the fight is bad enough manslaughter... Probably more you can go to jail for but I am not a cop.

[TJones]

Not fun to get stabbed in a bar fight, let me tell you ! Laid up on a Ben Taub O.R. slab for 6.5 hours while they put me back together. I wasn't armed, and I wasn't looking for trouble, but trouble sure found me. It found the would be assailant pretty good also, even though he brought a weapon , he wound up goin' to the ER also for head trauma. I have already told this before, sorry, I am sure you can find it if you do a search.

[Vertigo58]

Not fun to get stabbed in a bar fight, let me tell you ! Laid up on a Ben Taub O.R. slab for 6.5 hours while they put me back together. I wasn't armed, and I wasn't looking for trouble, but trouble sure found me. It found the would be assailant pretty good also, even though he brought a weapon , he wound up goin' to the ER also for head trauma. I have already told this before, sorry, I am sure you can find it if you do a search.

Thats what I meant by you could just be minding your own business but it takes one a hole to start crap.

I dont blame it all on alcohol because we have all known people that drink and they get really funny or just happy/funny. Then there are some that flip out after that final brew. Its like something clicks and whoa!

It's the old Dr Jeykl and Mr Hyde syndrome, get back. Take for instance that idiot on the metro bus a few weeks ago, just got bumped by the other guy and look what happended? Why was that idiot carrying a gun? Must have had the monkey on his back. Maybe start new topic under Way Off Topics about lunatics looking for trouble?

[md2hog]

My home in the Heights was broken into on Monday during the day. Thieves jumped my back fence and broke out a bedroom window....ignored the alarm, and stole quite a few valuable items from the bedroom.

I arrived home, cops had still not shown up. I called to complain and was told "we can't drop everything and come straight over to your house when you call". I won't share with you my response, but you can guess it was less than pleasant. I guess the boys in blue were too busy writing speeding tickets/illegal license frame tickets on Yale or Shepard to respond in a timely matter.

Glad that my wife was not home...she usually works from the house. But very concerned about the brazeness of the theft given the time of day. Of course, with three hour response times to breaking and entering calls, why would they be dissuaded?

Finally, I have been hearing the mayor and police chief talking about reducing crime and adding police for over three years now. Yet, I really don't see anyone doing a thing about either problem. They sure have figured out that red light problem that was causing such a public uproar. Does anyone get the feeling that the $$$ are more important than doing acual police work? When was the last time you saw a police cruiser in your neighborhood just driving down the street (ie...doing a routine patrol?).

I have been a Heights resident for 10 years. I understand that we live in the city. I do not understand why it takes nearly two hours for the police to respond to a breaking and entering call. I am sure that the businesses that were hit feel the same way. Proactive sure beats reactive. Reactive forces businesses to move from our neighborhood to a safer place where their windows don't get broken, cars don't get broken into, and they feel the police are "protecting and serving" the community and not out simply providing revenue for the city coffers by writing speeding tickets.

Rant over.

[musicman]

send it to your councilmember adrian.garcia@cityofhouston.net

if possible, send it to all the councilmembers. i'm sure one or two will back you up.

[MidtownCoog]

If your alarm is not setup to call police what's the point of having one?

HPD and HFD have shown up within minutes even when I "fat-fingered" my alarm key pad.

[md2hog]

Alarm was configured that way. I made it all the way from Tomball when the alarm company called me and still beat the police by 50 minutes.

[gonzo1976]

When my Woodland Heights place was broken into last month, it took HPD an hour and a half on a Friday night to show up. Friday night, big city, no one suffering a shotgun wound all sort of adds up to a low priority for HPD.

I bet they didn't take prints or anything like that in your case, either.

If you want, you can contact me personally and we can compare notes between both burglaries.

[RedScare]

Prior to my neighbor moving a few months ago, his alarm would routinely trigger without someone breaking in. HPD dutifully showed up and looked at the doors and windows, even though they knew that it was probably a false alarm (apparently a low battery in a cordless phone can cause a false alarm). One morning two neighbors had false alarms, with HPD showing up twice within minutes. This is in the Heights.

It is possible that HPD did show up on the alarm call, but saw no activity. It is also possible that your alarm company did not send the call to HPD (I do not know your alarm setup). Even in a best case scenario, many burglars know that it will be 5 to 10 minutes before any police can get to the scene, and they ignore alarms.

With the recent window breaking incidents, there is some talk of Heights businesses hiring off-duty constables for additional patrol in the Heights. Rather than rail about cops writing traffic citations, you might consider urging the Heights Association to look into including residents in this patrol proposal. It would lower the cost per business/resident, and may provide money for better patrol coverage.

It sounds like you may have an alley, which allowed rear access. You might consider talking to the neighbors who share that alley to better secure access to it. As burglars prefer privacy, alleys are a better access point than the streets out front.

[MidtownCoog]

Another time this happned to me (wind blew door open) HPD was there before me and they were upstairs looking for a bad guy.

I think HPD is doing OK based upon my experiences.

[Tiko]

With the recent window breaking incidents, there is some talk of Heights businesses hiring off-duty constables for additional patrol in the Heights. Rather than rail about cops writing traffic citations, you might consider urging the Heights Association to look into including residents in this patrol proposal. It would lower the cost per business/resident, and may provide money for better patrol coverage.

I believe the Crime Committee has been working on this for awhile. We got a flyer last year about this: http://www.houstonheights.org/pdf/Patrol%20FAQ.pdf

[Zippy]

...

With the recent window breaking incidents, there is some talk of Heights businesses hiring off-duty constables for additional patrol in the Heights. Rather than rail about cops writing traffic citations, you might consider urging the Heights Association to look into including residents in this patrol proposal. It would lower the cost per business/resident, and may provide money for better patrol coverage.

...

I was hoping I wasn't the only one thinking of this solution. River Oaks has their Patrol Off-duty HPD/Sheriff's Office deputy roaming the streets.. Albeit River Oaks is probably a bit smaller population wise.. I certainly wouldn't mind paying a small fee to see a marked "Heights Patrol" vehicle roaming the streets keeping an eye on things..

[Mr. Chenevert]

Last time my alarm went off (I was out of town), HPD was there within minutes.

[westguy76]

usually when i set off my own alarm. the monitor calls me and asks for a password. I recieve this call within a minute. If I don't give them the password they call the police. I have know idea how long it takes for them to get there.

[Urbannomad]

I'm over in shady acres, but close enough. Sunday night my garage was broken into twice, after the second time my wife called HPD's non-emergency line and they were there in about 10 minutes. She told the dispatcher it wasn't and emergency or anything though, so the response time was very good given that fact. The cops themselves were very nice and looked around even though I know this wasn't a big deal to them.

[musicman]

I'm over in shady acres, but close enough. Sunday night my garage was broken into twice, after the second time my wife called HPD's non-emergency line and they were there in about 10 minutes. She told the dispatcher it wasn't and emergency or anything though, so the response time was very good given that fact. The cops themselves were very nice and looked around even though I know this wasn't a big deal to them.

so how do they break in twice? were you able to lock back up after the first breakin?

[VicMan]

I would suggest buying security cameras and hiding them in the house.

Then, after the breakins, let the police see the cameras. Then post the contents to Youtube, Google Video, Metacafe, etc. - Embarrass the hell out of the crooks.

[Guest Marty]

Then post the contents to Youtube, Google Video, Metacafe, etc. - Embarrass the hell out of the crooks.

You better have a gun to back it up or you could be jeopardizing your safety even more, Just remember these lowlifes have computers too and are very dangerous.

[ricco67]

You better have a gun to back it up or you could be jeopardizing your safety even more, Just remember these lowlifes have computers too and are very dangerous.

I helped design a camera system for a friend when he built his home. He has a "secure" room where he keeps his servers that's pretty damned secure (fire resistant materials for the walls) and a reinforced door, it acts as a "safe room" if something happens.

Anyway, looking at options for the home security, one of the things he wanted was a digital camera system recorded on a DVR. He went a bit overboard (which he has a tendency to do) and mounted them all around the house one in a kitchen and a foyer. After the installation we were in the server room (slightly drunk) while showing off his system and realized two of the cameras had a "zoom feature" that we didn't realize it had. While marveling at what looked like Mission control in this "office" we noticed a movement in one of exterior cameras and it was a neighbor skinny dipping in the pool. In our drunken stupor we just watched in awe and panned and zoomed.

We swore NEVER to tell his wife about THAT camera. LOL.

Basically what I'm sayin', camera system. Yeah.

Sorry too much caffine.

[TheNiche]

My home in the Heights was broken into on Monday during the day. Thieves jumped my back fence and broke out a bedroom window....ignored the alarm, and stole quite a few valuable items from the bedroom.

I arrived home, cops had still not shown up. I called to complain and was told "we can't drop everything and come straight over to your house when you call". I won't share with you my response, but you can guess it was less than pleasant. I guess the boys in blue were too busy writing speeding tickets/illegal license frame tickets on Yale or Shepard to respond in a timely matter.

Glad that my wife was not home...she usually works from the house. But very concerned about the brazeness of the theft given the time of day. Of course, with three hour response times to breaking and entering calls, why would they be dissuaded?

Finally, I have been hearing the mayor and police chief talking about reducing crime and adding police for over three years now. Yet, I really don't see anyone doing a thing about either problem. They sure have figured out that red light problem that was causing such a public uproar. Does anyone get the feeling that the $$$ are more important than doing acual police work? When was the last time you saw a police cruiser in your neighborhood just driving down the street (ie...doing a routine patrol?).

I have been a Heights resident for 10 years. I understand that we live in the city. I do not understand why it takes nearly two hours for the police to respond to a breaking and entering call. I am sure that the businesses that were hit feel the same way. Proactive sure beats reactive. Reactive forces businesses to move from our neighborhood to a safer place where their windows don't get broken, cars don't get broken into, and they feel the police are "protecting and serving" the community and not out simply providing revenue for the city coffers by writing speeding tickets.

I'm not in the Heights, but own a home over in Eastwood. For about a week or two, I had some kids throwing bits of concrete and sticks, and a couple of bricks at windows during the daytime when people weren't there. Police were called each time, and their response was reasonably good for a non-emergency. After the third time, they started providing patrols to the home three times daily to check for activity. Activity stopped.

Probably a good idea hiring extra patrols from off-duty cops or just going all-out with full-time constables like they've got at Gulfgate. They keep things nice and ordlerly in an otherwise iffy area.

[Urbannomad]

so how do they break in twice? were you able to lock back up after the first breakin?

The first time I assumed they waited until I left the garage and stop it from closing at the last minute because it was open about 2 feet, either that or they used the keypad outside the garage to get in. So I took the keypad down and made sure everything was shut before leaving. Then I went upstairs to email my neighbors to be aware of it, when I heard the garage opening again! This time I ran down there and they took off. So I'm guessing what they were doing was jumping the fencing into our back yard and getting into the garage that way. Pretty brave since it's only a few feet between our house and garage and the first time was before 9:30pm. Regardless now we have started locking the garage door and leaving the back lights on as well. We had some stuff taken off the front porch a couple of months ago so I put a chime on the gate and installed a camera out there, and now I guess I'll have to do the same in the back.