Crime In The Heights

[musicman]

sorry to hear that urbannomad. i know one neighborhood where people have broken into garages by going to the back of the garage and literally sawing through the back wall. the civic club president told me that 3 houses were done this way and the homeowners didn't know a thing til they went into the garage.

[Guest Marty]

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.

LOL... Technology + Swimming Pools = Fun Fun Fun

[Tiko]

I put a chime on the gate and installed a camera out there

Interesting. Can you tell me about the chime? Wired or wireless? I'd like to do something like that.

[Urbannomad]

Interesting. Can you tell me about the chime? Wired or wireless? I'd like to do something like that.

Wireless. It's a pretty simple device I got at Lowe's for around $25 and it took about 5 minutes to install. The sensor is two pieces one goes on the fence and the other goes on the gate. When they are separated a chime goes off inside the house. I just used double sided type to put it up and even with all the rain it has worked without a problem. We really like having it out there, now we always know when someone comes in the front yard. Of course if we aren't home it doesn't help much, but it's a trade off since we did not want to have to lock the front gate and one of us is usually always home because we work opposite shifts.

[Vertigo58]

Wireless. It's a pretty simple device I got at Lowe's for around $25 and it took about 5 minutes to install. The sensor is two pieces one goes on the fence and the other goes on the gate. When they are separated a chime goes off inside the house. I just used double sided type to put it up and even with all the rain it has worked without a problem. We really like having it out there, now we always know when someone comes in the front yard. Of course if we aren't home it doesn't help much, but it's a trade off since we did not want to have to lock the front gate and one of us is usually always home because we work opposite shifts.

Wow! This chime sounds great!

Can someone post a pic of what it looks like? Even rain proof? Incredible. Better than having a moat w/crodcodiles (last resort).

Picture please!

signed,

Desperate in East End Oaks

[gnu]

Can someone post a pic of what it looks like?

Picture please!

Urbannomad posted the link above...but here you go anyhoo...

[Urbannomad]

Even rain proof? Incredible.

Seems to be. I've had it up all summer and even with all the rain we've had it hasn't had a problem.

[TheNiche]

Wow! This chime sounds great!

Can someone post a pic of what it looks like? Even rain proof? Incredible. Better than having a moat w/crodcodiles (last resort).

Picture please!

signed,

Desperate in East End Oaks

Be weary of the lower-priced brands. I got some small battery-operated chimes with an adhesive backing, but the signal stength was so weak that I couldn't get them to not think that they were seperated unless they were within just a few milimeters of one another. Since it is common for many doors to have a face that is not flush with the frame, the devices proved worthless.

[Urbannomad]

I got the $25 one from lowes and it works fine for me. It's on my gate so the two sides don't meet up all that close but it works fine. I did have to use some better double sided tape though, bc the adhesive it came with failed after about the second rain. Another neat toy I saw was a motion activated flood light that also sounds a wireless chime in your house and can turn on a lamp if you want it to. I don't remember the price but seems like a cool idea, so long as your light isn't in a heavy traffic area. Perfect for a backyard or something, but I just went with the old school, simple one.

[TheNiche]

I got the $25 one from lowes and it works fine for me. It's on my gate so the two sides don't meet up all that close but it works fine. I did have to use some better double sided tape though, bc the adhesive it came with failed after about the second rain. Another neat toy I saw was a motion activated flood light that also sounds a wireless chime in your house and can turn on a lamp if you want it to. I don't remember the price but seems like a cool idea, so long as your light isn't in a heavy traffic area. Perfect for a backyard or something, but I just went with the old school, simple one.

I got the one that turns on and off based upon readings from a photovoltaic sensor and that is contained in a metal enclosure with a thick transparent plastic hood. Since installed, I haven't had any more problems with kids breaking windows (or the light itself). Too many stray cats and dogs, and a fair bit of pedestrian activity, so the motion sensor would otherwise be getting tripped too frequently for anyone to take serious notice.

[heightsfan]

Good Afternoon,

By any chance do you own a dog that was able to bark and alert you or the neighbors ?

Its always good to become unified with your neighbors and let them have an idea

of your work schedules in case they should notice something strange .

Safety in numbers

[editor]

Good Afternoon,

By any chance do you own a dog that was able to bark and alert you or the neighbors ?

Its always good to become unified with your neighbors and let them have an idea

of your work schedules in case they should notice something strange .

Safety in numbers

That was going to be my suggestion, too.

1. Floodlights with motion sensors.

2. A golden retriever -- large enough to be scary, smart enough not to set off false alarms.

[VicMan]

If those Goldeneye 007 (from Nintendo 64) style automatic machine guns were real, I would recommend them too

By the way, in the game, if the blue guns see Bond, they home in on him and fire at him (they obviously do not shoot at the enemy Russian soldiers/Janus operatives/Natalya/anyone else).

[Tiko]

Got this from HHA today...

City Councilman Adrian Garcia and the Houston Police Department are meeting with citizens that are concerned about crime and safety issues in the Heights. The meeting will be held at St. Marks United Methodist Church, 600 Pecore, on Tuesday, August 28, at 7:00 P.M. If you have any questions please contact the Heights Police Storefront at 713-803-1151.

[lwood]

Got this from HHA today...

City Councilman Adrian Garcia and the Houston Police Department are meeting with citizens that are concerned about crime and safety issues in the Heights. The meeting will be held at St. Marks United Methodist Church, 600 Pecore, on Tuesday, August 28, at 7:00 P.M. If you have any questions please contact the Heights Police Storefront at 713-803-1151.

This meeting is tonight. Please plan to attend if you live in the area. We want Councilman Garcia and HPD to understand our problem.

[MidtownCoog]

Good luck with your damage control meeting.

All these usally do is take a cop off the street for a few hours. Show up and tell them that.

[jfre81]

Get a 12-gauge and unload a shell in the a**hole's chest. That'll get HPD there faster.

[Jax]

A friend of mine just moved to Dallas from the Heights. His reason - his house had been broken into three times in a few years of living there. I think his wife was from Dallas too, but the event that sparked his move was the third break in. It's really sad...

[RedScare]

A friend of mine just moved to Dallas from the Heights. His reason - his house had been broken into three times in a few years of living there. I think his wife was from Dallas too, but the event that sparked his move was the third break in. It's really sad...

His reaction to a burglary is to move to a city with a higher crime rate?

Odd.

[VicMan]

His reaction to a burglary is to move to a city with a higher crime rate?

Odd.

Well, 1. What part of Dallas is he moving to.

2. Why doesn't he use other methods of catching burglars such as security cameras, dogs, locking the house, etc?

[MidtownCoog]

I bet the friend also suffered from chronic hobobfobia.

Moving to another part of Houston would just make too much sense. Might as well just uproot the family and head to the tranquility of D/FW, Texas.

[Jax]

I think it's actually Forth Worth. I'm not saying this makes any sense, just the break ins really scared this family away from the heights. I agree that it's odd to move to the Dallas area when it may not be any safer. I think his wife wanted to be closer to her family and the break ins were the last straw. Also it seems that they think somebody was targeting them, and they wanted to get away from that possibility.

I just added that anecdote to point out that break ins in the heights seem to be fairly common.

[VicMan]

I bet the friend also suffered from chronic hobobfobia.

He should have taken Zoloft.

BTW, Coog, please open a photobucket account and upload that pic to it. Something tells me that PhiladelphiaWeekly doesn't like having its bandwidth leeched. I could be wrong, but I would assume the former.

EDIT: Removed Zoloft image

[MidtownCoog]

The Heights has been rough ever since I can remember. The old Coogs I know talk about Heights Rats (bad guys) in the 50s and 60s.

I know it's much better now and has flashes of brillance, but it's not Mayberry.

Anybody who thinks it is is just fooling themselves.

[Original Timmy Chan's]

The Heights has been rough ever since I can remember. The old Coogs I know talk about Heights Rats (bad guys) in the 50s and 60s.

I wonder if those guys ran with a guy I used to work with (who passed away 5 or 6 years ago).

He grew up in San Felipe Courts (a running buddy of Kenny Rogers), went to Jeff Davis High School, and used to tell me stories that I couldn't believe about his school days back in the 50's.

He always found it funny that people thought gang violence was a recent development. He said knife fights were very common back then, and bringing guns to school wasn't a strange phenomenon back then, either. Also told me that HS gangs (himself included) were selling a lot of heroin back then...and they did a lot of break-ins back then, too.

So...crime and/or gangs in the Heights is not at all a new phenomenon.

[AJXterra]

I was a little surprised this hadn't been mentioned yet this morning. Pulled from Click2 this morning...

HOUSTON -- A convenience store clerk fatally shot a thief late Wednesday, officials told KPRC Local 2.

Houston police said a man stole three 18-packs of beer from a Conoco station on Studewood Street near White Oak Drive shortly before midnight.

The man got into an argument with the clerk outside the store, investigators said. The two struggled and the man used force to fight the clerk away, police said.

Officials said the man reached toward the right of the driver's seat. The clerk feared for his life and shot the man once in the chest, police said.

The clerk called for police and paramedics, but the man died in the parking lot. His identity has not been released.

The clerk was taken into custody, but not arrested. Police said the case will be reviewed by a grand jury.

Officials said the man was also driving a stolen car.

Unfortunately I'm sure many people assumed this was eventually going to happen. I frequent this store weekly and am sad to hear that the kind gentleman running it was put in this position. I don't necessarily agree with the outcome, especially death. I guess I'd like to hear some opinions on the matter.

[MidtownCoog]

People need to respect the law. Score one for the good guy.

[lwood]

I was a little surprised this hadn't been mentioned yet this morning. Pulled from Click2 this morning...

HOUSTON -- A convenience store clerk fatally shot a thief late Wednesday, officials told KPRC Local 2.

Houston police said a man stole three 18-packs of beer from a Conoco station on Studewood Street near White Oak Drive shortly before midnight.

The man got into an argument with the clerk outside the store, investigators said. The two struggled and the man used force to fight the clerk away, police said.

Officials said the man reached toward the right of the driver's seat. The clerk feared for his life and shot the man once in the chest, police said.

The clerk called for police and paramedics, but the man died in the parking lot. His identity has not been released.

The clerk was taken into custody, but not arrested. Police said the case will be reviewed by a grand jury.

Officials said the man was also driving a stolen car.

Unfortunately I'm sure many people assumed this was eventually going to happen. I frequent this store weekly and am sad to hear that the kind gentleman running it was put in this position. I don't necessarily agree with the outcome, especially death. I guess I'd like to hear some opinions on the matter.

I don't usually stop at that store but I will in the future.

[Zippy]

One more piece of scum out of the Heights. Good riddance.

[heights_yankee]

People need to respect the law. Score one for the good guy.

Great image, Coog! I heart Falling Down. I feel like I could be in it some days.