Security

Lori Bigler

WHCA Constable Patrol Update: March-May 2017 /  by Lori Bigler

Subscriber Stats

We have a little more than 350 subscribers and have received some generous additional donations from our neighbors, totaling about $119k. We have also received a $10k contribution from Greystar and, as I mentioned before, we had about $10k in surplus from the prior year. That brings us to about $139k. Our goal for two-deputy shifts is $153k, so we are getting closer but are not there yet. As it stands, we are a little more than one month short, or about 45 more subscribers. We would need even more to maintain our surplus for next year.

That said, we have a number of people who have signed up for auto-renewal and are scheduled to “renew” over the next few months, but have not yet done so. If that is you, please consider contacting us and renewing now. If you have not subscribed or renewed, please consider doing so. And if you know someone who would like to participate but cannot afford to pay the full amount, please have them contact me.

Crime Stats

Here is a summary of the criminal activity in our neighborhood from March through May.

Crime Map

Here is a map giving a snapshot of the criminal activity over the last three months combined (22 incidents).

Legend: car (thefts of/from vehicle); star (burglaries); ring (other theft); hand (violent crime); whistle (sexual assault). Data is available at https://goo.gl/vFfDmT.

Constable Patrol Activity

Wonder what our Constables do, other than generally patrol the neighborhood to be seen and prevent crime? Here is a summary of “Contract Activity Report.”

Bonus. For those who may be curious, here is a map of our contract area:

We remind everyone for a crime in progress, please call 911 first. 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.

Do not hesitate to call Precinct One for something that doesn’t look right. Our deputies want you to err on the side of calling things in. Our neighborhood is big, and you can help direct our deputies to suspicious activity.

Brad Snead
VP-Security WHCA

The Constable Patrol: Introducing Deputy Hathhorn /  by Lori Bigler

This post is part of an effort to introduce the people who patrol the Woodland Heights as part of the Constable Patrol Program.

As a native Houstonian, Deputy Hathhorn is the night time patrol Deputy for Woodland Heights. While Deputy Hathhorn is new to the Woodland Heights contract, he has been with Harris
County Constable Precinct 1 for six years.

Deputy Hathhorn served for three of those years as a Reserve Deputy. He enjoys serving others. He served the City of Friendswood, Texas as a Fire Fighter and Emergency Medical Technician for six years. In 2016 he was awarded a Bravery Medal
by Constable Alan Rosen. Without regard to his own personal safety, Deputy Hathhorn placed himself in harm’s way to savea citizen.

He has been married for sixteen years and has two children. He loves dogs, raises cattle, and enjoys outdoor life. Deputy Hathhorn believes that community policing has a huge impact
in Woodland Heights. He serves this community as if it were his own community.

The Constable Patrol: Introducing Deputy Vest /  by Lori Bigler

This post is part of an effort to introduce the people who patrol the Woodland Heights as part of the Constable Patrol Program.

Deputy David Vest is originally from Alvin, Texas and now resides in Houston, graduated from Sam Houston State University with a degree in criminal science. He's been patrolling the neighborhood for three years and has been employed with Harris County Constables Office since 2005. Has a brother that is also a Deputy Sheriff in another county. He enjoys hunting, fishing, outdoor recreational activities and attends as many Texas A&M football games as his time allows. He enjoys patrolling the Woodland Heights because of the small community relations and its citizens.

January 2017 Constable Patrol Update /  by Lori Bigler

Subscriber Stats

The Constable Patrol operates on a fiscal year ending March 31. Through January, we have approximately 409 subscribers, which is below our usual amount from past years. To sustain two deputy shifts for an entire year, we need 460 subscribers. Luckily, we have had a little bit of a surplus to help fill the gap this year due to a donation by Greystar Apartments. We have about 1-2 months left of a surplus. In other words, if we do not get our membership numbers up next year, we may not be able to have two full deputy shifts for 12 months. More details to come next month as we officially start the renewal campaign.

Please support the Constable Patrol, and please let me know of any ideas you have on how to improve the program and make it sustainable moving forward.

Testimonial

Here is a recent testimonial from a subscriber about her experience with the vacation watch.

“I sent in a vacation watch form to let the constable know I would have a house guest. I indicated on the form I would be in town. I have a new Ring Video Doorbell Pro, and was surprised when a female officer went to my front door and tried the handle. Then the next day I saw remotely that a male officer did the same thing.
On the third day it happened when I was home and went upstairs and turned on the light - and I saw the officer parked across the street, waiting. I called the constable to ask why they kept trying my front door. It turned out that somehow it was entered into "the system" that I was on vacation. I felt so protected that they would check my house EVERY DAY.
I also have experienced that the constable will show up in under 10 minutes, while HPD can take up to an hour. The constable patrol is well worth the investment."

Crime Stats

Here is a summary of the criminal activity in our neighborhood over the past month.

January 2017 Crime Stats.jpg

Crime Map

Here is a map giving a snapshot of the criminal activity, showing most activity around Houston Avenue near I-45. Legend: car (thefts of/from vehicle); star (burglaries); ring (other theft); hand (violent crime).

Constable Patrol Activity

Wonder what our Constables do, other than generally patrol the neighborhood to be seen and prevent crime? Here is a summary of “Contract Activity Report.” There were 403 activities logged, about half coming during our day shift and half during our evening shift. Some activities were logged by constables patrolling nearby neighborhoods when our constables were off duty (which is another perk of the program).

We remind everyone for a crime in progress, please call 911 first. 

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.   Do not hesitate to call Precinct One for something that doesn’t look right.  Our deputies want you to err on the side of calling things in.  Our neighborhood is big, and you can help direct our deputies to suspicious activity.    

Brad Snead,
VP-Security WHCA