| Neighborhood Security |
When we organized the HFNA in 1984, zoning & redevelopment was the #1 issue in
the neighborhood.
In recent years, Crime has moved up to #1. Neighborhood crime consists of home
burglaries & thefts (approx. 55%), automobile break-ins (approx. 40%), and "other"
(5%).
1. CURRENT SITUATION. According to the Police, we are a "low crime" area.
Below is a Dallas Police crime map for a recent year. Our association boundaries are
marked in green:
the neighborhood.
In recent years, Crime has moved up to #1. Neighborhood crime consists of home
burglaries & thefts (approx. 55%), automobile break-ins (approx. 40%), and "other"
(5%).
1. CURRENT SITUATION. According to the Police, we are a "low crime" area.
Below is a Dallas Police crime map for a recent year. Our association boundaries are
marked in green:
Much of the Police Department effort to make Dallas safer focuses on the most serious
crimes such as person-to-person violence. The 22 city "hot spots" had over 100 violent
crimes each in 2008. By comparison, our own neighborhood had Zero violent crimes
during that period. The HFNA neighborhood is marked in green:
crimes such as person-to-person violence. The 22 city "hot spots" had over 100 violent
crimes each in 2008. By comparison, our own neighborhood had Zero violent crimes
during that period. The HFNA neighborhood is marked in green:
Being a "low crime" area, and with city budget constraints and the much higher
concentrations of crime elsewhere, it is unlikely that the city can spare any additional
resources for our neighborhood.
2. OPTIONS. What can we do? Options inevitably require money or time or both.
Here are some alternatives that our board has explored:
Watch, and other groups offer many good suggestions on improving home security.
Here are some suggestions on how to prevent the crimes that we see the most often:
you're gone, setting lights on timers, using deadbolt locks on doors, etc.
Finally, IF SUSPICIOUS, DIAL 911 - The Dallas Police say that we are their eyes
and ears. If something looks suspicious, let them check it out. They depend on us. And
watch out for your neighbors, too.
LINKS
Crime Map for our neighborhood (past 3 days)
Police Reports by address or street.
TIP from a Neighbor:
PUT YOUR CAR KEYS BESIDE YOUR BED AT NIGHT
If you hear a noise outside your home or someone trying to get in your house, just press
the panic button for your car, whether it's outside or in the garage. The horn will honk
until you turn it off or until it re-sets after several minutes.
This is an alarm system that you probably already have and requires no installation.
Test it. It should go off from almost everywhere in your house. If someone is
prowling around your house at night, the odds are that they won’t stick around with a
horn honking.
Don't forget - that's your alarm.
Also, it is a good idea to remember to carry your keys while walking to your car in a
parking lot. If you feel threatened, press the alarm button and start your car's horn
honking. It's a common safety device that many of us forget we have.
concentrations of crime elsewhere, it is unlikely that the city can spare any additional
resources for our neighborhood.
2. OPTIONS. What can we do? Options inevitably require money or time or both.
Here are some alternatives that our board has explored:
- A. PRIVATE POLICE PATROL. It's the most expensive, but this would be the
preference for many residents. Here's how it works:
The Hillcrest Estates/Ricks Circle area just west of us has this program. About
175 homes participate (appox. 50%), and it costs about $100,000 a year to
operate the night-time patrols, 7 days a week. The major expense is the officers'
salaries, but they also rent the city patrol car and provide the officers with cell
phones for communication (they can’t use city radios).
It requires an administrator. He/she donates 1 to 2 hours a week, on average:
scheduling the officers, handling communications with the home owners, collecting
the $150 per home every 3 months, and recruiting more residents into the
program to replace those who move away. It's a great program, but relatively
expensive and labor intensive.
Needed: A neighborhood volunteer to recruit 175+ paying participants from our
1,300+ homes, plus work a few hours a month to administer. If you would like to
try to organize this in our neighborhood, please contact us!
B. PRIVATE SECURITY PATROL. There are multiple options here. The
Northwood Hills Homeowners Association has such a service. Also, FirstWatch
Security, which provides alarm installation and monitoring service in Dallas, will
provide up to 8 hours per day or night of patrol by a security officer in a
FirstWatch patrol car. They might provide this FREE, if 150-200 residents in
the neighborhood sign up for their alarm monitoring and premium-level security
service, which is about $50 a month. FirstWatch would bill the participating
residents for their alarm monitoring, but a neighborhood volunteer would be
responsible for signing up and maintaining the minimum number of participants.
Many people already have a monitored alarm system (or might like to have one),
so the incremental cost to add this patrol service might be worth considering.
C. VIDEO MONITORING. A local firm, Omni-Watch, installs systems
consisting of a video camera at each entrance into the neighborhood. This could
cover any sector of our neighborhood, small or large. The homeowner group buys
the cameras ($3,000 each, including installation), and is responsible for finding
homeowner(s) at key points who will allow a camera to be installed on their
property and send the video feed upstream to Omni-Watch through their home's
internet link. Omni-Watch does not monitor the cameras, but any member
neighbor can do so on-line. Omni-Watch does store 2 weeks of video data. The
cameras may capture the make and model of vehicles entering and leaving the
neighborhood during daylight hours, and at night if there is good lighting.
Unfortunately, just because an unfamiliar vehicle is in the area around the time
of a burglary does not mean that the vehicle was involved, so it may not be
"probable cause" for the police to find and question them. The neighborhood
would be responsible for installation costs and the monthly fee of $30 per
camera for data storage. Frankly, most of the benefit probably comes from the
installation of prominent signs at the neighborhood entrances, notifying people
that the neighborhood is under video surveillance. The signs are a deterrent.
D. CRIME WATCH. This program is more neighbor-to-neighbor, and although
it involves time to keep it active, the expenses are relatively low. Neighbors
watch out for neighbors and residents are reminded to take simple steps which
make their homes less attractive targets -- heightened awareness. A well-run
Crime Watch covering over 500 homes exists in the southern half of our
neighborhood, east of Hillcrest between Forest & Royal Lanes - thank you,
Beverly Houston! A program can be as large or small as neighbors want -- even
just a street or two. If you are interested in participating for your street(s),
please contact us, and we will put you in touch.
E. OTHER VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS. The Crime Watch mentioned above is
also active in the VIP (Volunteers In Patrol) program, a police-trained
neighborhood patrol. Members patrol in pairs, no firearms, never leave your
vehicle, cell phone only. Over 50 residents here are already trained and active,
and if you would like to join them, please contact us!
Watch, and other groups offer many good suggestions on improving home security.
Here are some suggestions on how to prevent the crimes that we see the most often:
- A. If you don't already have an alarm system in your home, add one.
Prices have come down over the years, and the new, inexpensive wireless systems
make wiring unnecessary. There are many reputable companies, but be sure to
get 2-3 quotes. Some people choose to not have it actively monitored (which can
cost $30-$50 per month), but the mere presence of the system and the audible
alarm inside the house tends to discourage burglars from targeting the home, or
from staying long if they do.
B. If you have an alarm system, USE IT - consistently. Many homeowners who
have an alarm system have been burglarized because they left the house and
didn't turn it on. Also, most systems allow you to alarm the perimeter when you
go to bed (exterior doors and maybe windows), so you or your pet can still roam
freely inside but no one can force open a door while you're sleeping without
triggering an alarm. Any time you leave the house - even to run to the store - set
the alarm.
- C. If you have an alarm system, place alarm company signs in prominent
locations in both the front and back of your house. Many criminals come in from
the alley to avoid being seen on the street.
D. Do not leave your garage door open. Or your front door unlocked, if
you're in the back yard. Thieves are brazen opportunists and can be in-and-out,
grabbing a few valuable possessions in 30 seconds. They are always the alert
for open garage doors.
E. Vehicles in driveways attract thieves like ants to a picnic. Close to 40% of
the crimes in the our neighborhood involve (1) stealing items from an unlocked car,
(2) breaking a car window to take an item or to search the car or trunk (which
can be opened via a button inside the vehicle), and (3) using the car's garage door
opener to enter the garage, and from there, sometimes the house.
- Recommendations regarding vehicles:
- (1) DO NOT LEAVE YOUR VEHICLE OUTSIDE OVERNIGHT. Even if
it's in back or behind a gate, you will be a crime victim eventually. Clean
out your garage and get your car inside, unless you have a good reason like
you only have a carport or you have a teenager with a 3rd car or there's a
boat in one side of the garage.
(2) DO NOT LEAVE YOUR GARAGE DOOR'S REMOTE OPENER IN
YOUR CAR PARKED OUTSIDE. Why give them a "key" to your garage
and then to enter your house? If you sometimes leave a car outside, the
best solution is to replace your remote with an inexpensive, very compact
key-chain version. They can be purchased conveniently on-line from the
manufacturers and from places like amazon.com - a bargain at $15-$25,
some of the cheapest protection you can buy.
(3) DO NOT LEAVE ANYTHING OF VALUE IN A CAR OUTSIDE,
especially if it can be seen. Thieves will cheerfully break a window and do
hundreds of dollars in damage to get a GPS navigator, cell phone, iPod, car
TV, purse, briefcase, or anything else of value. And FYI, if you have a 3rd
row seat in your SUV and it's parked outside at night - don't get too
attached to it.
(4) Lock all vehicles when they're outside, even for 30 minutes. We live
in a big city.
you're gone, setting lights on timers, using deadbolt locks on doors, etc.
Finally, IF SUSPICIOUS, DIAL 911 - The Dallas Police say that we are their eyes
and ears. If something looks suspicious, let them check it out. They depend on us. And
watch out for your neighbors, too.
LINKS
Crime Map for our neighborhood (past 3 days)
Police Reports by address or street.
- Check the box at the bottom to go to the "search" page. Then enter a street
name, such as your own.
Put in a range of dates (example format: 01/01/2009 to 01/01/2012).
Detailed information is available on a house-by-house basis.
TIP from a Neighbor:
PUT YOUR CAR KEYS BESIDE YOUR BED AT NIGHT
If you hear a noise outside your home or someone trying to get in your house, just press
the panic button for your car, whether it's outside or in the garage. The horn will honk
until you turn it off or until it re-sets after several minutes.
This is an alarm system that you probably already have and requires no installation.
Test it. It should go off from almost everywhere in your house. If someone is
prowling around your house at night, the odds are that they won’t stick around with a
horn honking.
Don't forget - that's your alarm.
Also, it is a good idea to remember to carry your keys while walking to your car in a
parking lot. If you feel threatened, press the alarm button and start your car's horn
honking. It's a common safety device that many of us forget we have.
| Source: The Dallas Morning News |
Below:
- Prevalence & types of crime in our neighborhood.
- Neighborhood Options:
1. Private Police Patrol
2. Private Security Patrol
3. Video Monitoring
4. Crime Watch (much of the HFNA has one)
5. Other neighborhood programs - Volunteers In Patrol (VIP)
- Protect yourself:
1. HAVE an alarm system.
2. USE your alarm system.
3. Prominently post Alarm company signs, front & back.
4. Do not leave your garage door open.
5. If you car is outside overnight, you will be a crime victim eventually.
6. Other common-sense precautions (lock doors, stop newspapers when out of
town, use lights on timers, etc.)
7. If something looks suspicious, dial 911. We are the eyes & ears of the Police.
- Recommendations regarding Vehicles
- Links
- Prevalence & types of crime in our neighborhood.
- Neighborhood Options:
1. Private Police Patrol
2. Private Security Patrol
3. Video Monitoring
4. Crime Watch (much of the HFNA has one)
5. Other neighborhood programs - Volunteers In Patrol (VIP)
- Protect yourself:
1. HAVE an alarm system.
2. USE your alarm system.
3. Prominently post Alarm company signs, front & back.
4. Do not leave your garage door open.
5. If you car is outside overnight, you will be a crime victim eventually.
6. Other common-sense precautions (lock doors, stop newspapers when out of
town, use lights on timers, etc.)
7. If something looks suspicious, dial 911. We are the eyes & ears of the Police.
- Recommendations regarding Vehicles
- Links