Security Committee Update
Who You Gonna Call?
It has happened to too many of us. Something happens to us or our property and we just don’t know what to do. Someone has broken into our car, taken all our wheels and tires, stolen our tailgate, removed the tools from the truck bed, stolen our mail, etc.
The Timbergrove Manor Civic Club Security Team will be working to provide more tips in the future on how to reduce your chances of being a victim. But first we want to help with tips on how to address an issue if it does happen to you.
Contacting Houston Police
Houston Police uses the crime reports as one means to determine how many officers to place in different parts of the city. We would ask you to report everycrime you see no matter how big or small.
9-1-1 is for Emergencies only.
Examples could include:
A thief is currently in the act stealing something or another crime is ongoing. Call 9-1-1
If someone is seriously injured, having a heart attack or a similar urgent medical issue and you can’t safely help them get to the emergency room. Call 9-1.1.
Non-Emergency HPD number -713-884-3131
This numberis used when you need to make a report about a Theft or Property Damage that has previously occurred and is under $5000.
Examples:
Coming home to a previously occurringhome burglary
Finding a burglary/theft of a motor vehicle incident in the morning but from the night prior.
Online
You can also make acrime report online about a Theft or Property Damage, under $5000 after the thief is gone or the crime has previously occurred.
Other helpful things you can do online:
You can make an online alert slip which is a report for suspicious things: Like reporting a prowler, a speeding vehicle, excessive burglaries and thefts in an area, or even a vacation watch for your home.
Security Committee Meeting
The Security Team will be having their first meeting of 2022 on Thursday, March 10 that 6:30 pm at Jaycee Park. We will be welcoming new members and discussing new ideas for 2022.
Security Tips
The Timbergrove Manor Civic Club Security Team is working for you to provide more tips on how to reduce your chances of being a victim.
Turn on your exterior lights.front porch, back patio, and sides of the house
Keep your porch light on at night. Lights are a great deterrent to thieves. They look for the dark spaces and hide in the shadows. Turning on your lights helps to keep them away. Lights on timers and motion sensors help ensure the lights come on when needed.
Get to know your neighbors. Front, back and side.
Neighbors watching out for neighbors is another good deterrent to thieves. Let your neighbors know when you are leav- ing town and they can help watch out for strangers while you are away. They can pick up your mail and papers, park in your drive way and many other ways to help it look like you are home.
If it looks suspicious check with your neighbor then report it. Knowing your neighbors can help. A watchful neighbor- hood is harder to steal from and it is one of the best deterrents available to us. If you see something, say something. Good neighbors can make all the difference.
Home alarms and cameras
Lock your doors and windows when you aren’t using them. Thieves avoid houses with alarms and cameras. Cameras catch them in the act and help the authorities with convictions. Don’t forget to add any unattached buildings to your alarm system. There are many companies today offering alarms with free cameras. 4. Park your cars in the garage and driveway whenever possible.
Thieves are looking for easy things. Vehicles in the street are easier than those near the house. Vehicle catalytic converters are easy to cut off with a saw but it’s loud. It’s Too loud to saw near the house as it could wake up the owners. If you must park in the street, park as close to the curb as possible and turn your front wheels as far as you can. This makes it harder to remove the lug nuts that holds the wheel to your vehicle.
Vehicle Alarms
Vehicle alarms help deter the theft of the car. Alarms with vibration and tilt sensors also deter vehicles from being jacked up (to steal the rims) and things being cut off.
Support the Timbergrove Citizens Patrol Team
The team is driving around at different times of the day and at night helping to keep the neighborhood safe. You can support them by waving as they drive by and reporting things you think are suspicious. If something looks suspicious, report it by calling the Houston Police Department Non-Emergency number (713) 884-3131, or going online and submitting an Alert Slip, as previously mentioned.
If you are interested in joining the Citizen Patrol Team, please send an email.
Is Security in Timbergrove a Concern for You?
Keeping our neighborhood secure is high on many people’s minds today. It is a concern for me and most of my neighbors. The Houston Police Department is committed to keeping Houston secure, but they need our help too.
One factor in keeping our neighborhood safe is the Timbergrove Manor Citizens Patrol Team. Several of your neighbors have joined the Citizen Patrol team to keep a security focused watch over our community.
The Citizen Patrol Team is established to provide a means for our community to help reduce the crime our community is facing by patrolling the neighborhood and reporting things that we see. Your Citizen Patrol Team are the additional eyes our neighbors and the police can rely on to help keep our neighborhood a safe place to live and work. We work to provide an effective team to discourage neighborhood crimes and promote a friendly and safer neighborhood.
Some of the things we have seen or heard and ensured were reported include, car burglaries, home burglaries, shots fired, suspicious vehicles around parks and throughout the neighborhood, drugs in our parks and vagrants in our local parks.
We work with an officer in the Houston Central Police Division to investigate all our concerns and determine ways we can further improve safety in our community.
Our group is small and we can’t be out in our neighborhood as frequently as we would like. If you have a spare hour or two each week and would be willing to simply drive through the neighborhood and report back security risks in our community, you can join our Timbergrove Manor Citizens Patrol Team.
You would make a great addition to our Citizen Patrol Team. Please join us in keeping our community safe. Please reach out to TMCC Security Focal Point - Security@timbergrove.org