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Crime in Kingwood: Houston, We Have A Problem...

Crime in Kingwood: Houston, We Have A Problem...

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by: KingwoodDotCom Active Indicator LED Icon 18 Site Admin  OP 
~ 10 years ago   Feb 3, '14 1:59am  
Crime in Kingwood: Houston, We Have A Problem...Feb 3rd, 2014Intro: Annexation of Kingwood by the City of Houston shouldn't mean we are left vulnerable to a spate of robberies, and be forced to make due with an underfunded, understaffed police department.  Kingwood is an affluent town, and we pay a lot of tax money into the system, and I think we deserve better.Although the Houston Police Department has publicly assured us that there is no crime spree going on in Kingwood, common sense tells us that something unusual is going on. The recent Feb. 2nd standoff between a robbery suspect and a S.W.A.T team ( www.kingwood.com/mes sage_board/view_mess age.php?message_boar d_parent_id=101Emoticonage= )  has been the dramatic icing on the cake, to a series of robberies in the Kingwood area.The Data: Recent Robbery ActivityAccording to the Houston Crime Map ( mycity.houstontx.gov /crime/ ), the 77339 Kingwood zip code has recently been subjected to the following robberies:Jan 6, 2014 -- Bank robbery - Walmart on NorthparkJan 21, 2014 -- Bank robbery - Walmart on Northpark (Part Deux - "I'm Back!," says the robber)Jan 23, 2014 -- Drug Store / Medical Supply - Kingwood DriveJan 24, 2014 -- Strip Business Center on Northpark DrJan 24, 2014 -- CVS / Walgreens on Kingwood Dr - Carjacking, believed to be part of a carjacking ring targeting the Kingwood area.Feb 2, 2014  -- CVS / Walgreens - Store Robbery with SWAT team standoffIs it just me, or does that seem like an unusually large number of robberies for this area.Who Is To Blame?No, I don't blame the police for this -- they did catch the recent robbery suspects. Details are still incoming, but it looks like they captured at least two suspects, one after a long and intense SWAT standoff.   I have a sneaky suspicion, however, that the Kingwood division of the police department is underfunded and under supported. This suspicion is strengthened by a video we posted on Kingwood.com in October from a Gun Rights group ( www.kingwood.com/mes sages/gun_rights_gro up_confrontation_wit h_poli.php?messEmoticonage=&vpage=0&message_board_category_id=999 ), where we can see officers claiming there are only are only 5 police units to cover Kingwood, Summerwood, Lake Houston, Huffman and Crosby. That seems like a ridiculously small staff to cover such a large area...if this is true, I don't blame the police department -- they are doing the best they can with the limited resources they have available.  In addition, at one of the KSA Public Safety meetings recently, Brian Danneman stated that: "since the City of Houston took over Kingwood[,...] the population has doubled but the police force has stayed the same." Specifically, the HPD-Kingwood Division opened in 2004 with an 85 person staff, and that staff has not grown over the past 10 years despite the population increase. (Source: Kingwood Observer: www.yourhoustonnews. com/kingwood/news/pu blic-safety-committe e-discusses-mor ).  Again, it sounds like the police department is not getting the attention, funding and staffing it needs.Why Not Kingwood?On the other hand, I don't necessarily blame the robbers either. Kingwood is an affluent, easy going community.  If Kingwood was not on their radar before we are certainly there now, after a recent set of bank robberies earned National Media attention: a middle aged woman in a hoodie robs one of our banks on Northpark, and then two weeks later returns to rob it again, declaring "I'm back!"  She makes a clean getaway both times, apparently on foot no less! After that kind of a story, I don't blame some people for thinking that robbing a bank in Kingwood is like shooting fish in a barrel.  Thankfully, the Kingwood Police have done much to refute this notion, after the quick apprehension of two suspects in the most recent robbery.  It's good to see the police taking action and getting results to shut down this type of criminality and make robbery less appealing and more risky for the bad guys.What Can Be Done:Kingwood residents need to voice their displeasure and demand a safer community. I have a couple suggestions if you'd like to help make a change:Contact your City of Houston Council Member representative, Dave Martin (
www.houstontx.gov/co uncil/e/ --- 832.393.3008 ---
districte@houstontx.gov )Contact the Kingwood Police department and HPD-Kingwood Captain Mark May and ask what can be done ( 281-913-4500 -- 3915 Rustic Woods )Voice your concern at the monthly Super Neighborhood Council ( 3nd Wednesday of each month -- www.kingwoodsnc.com/ ) Complain online -- here on Kingwood.com, on the other major local forum KU, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on any other social media you belong to.If you belong to the KSA, contact their Public Safety Committee,
which provides a liaison between the community and the Houston Police
Department, and demand that they work to leverage their resources and influence
to help improve the security situation in Kingwood ( KSA Public Safety
Meeting - HPD PIP Positive Interaction Program - Meeting is held the 3rd Tuesday
of each month at the Kingwood Church of Christ Church, 2901 Woodland
Hills Drive. KSA Phone: 281-358-5192, KSA Email: info@kingwoodserviceassociation.org -)Feedback:What do you think? Is this being blown out of proportion? Is increasing police presence a bad solution to the problem at hand? Do you have any different ideas or suggestions on how to affect change? This is a Community forum, so please post your thoughts, ideas, and corrections. 4951
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mamajulie Active Indicator LED Icon 16
~ 10 years ago   Feb 3, '14 3:55am  
I dont think that crime in Kingwood is any worse than it has ever been in terms of population.  As K/W has grown, crime has increased porportunately.  Watch the stats in the newspaper; they really don't change that much.  I do think that we all 'felt' safer with the constabuls patroling, but not sure that was the most effective way to patrol.  the HPD bike patrols on the green belts and their presence on our streets does make a difference.  Just my opinion. 
  4951
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rundmv Active Indicator LED Icon
~ 10 years ago   Feb 3, '14 4:05am  
Come on. Annexation was 17 Years ago. 4951
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mamajulie Active Indicator LED Icon 16
~ 10 years ago   Feb 3, '14 4:17am  
I didn't say anything about annexation; many villages kept the constables until very recently. 
  4951
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rundmv Active Indicator LED Icon
~ 10 years ago   Feb 3, '14 6:29am  
I didn't say anything about annexation; many villages kept the constables until very recently. 
 
 
@mamajulie: I didn't say you did. KDC.com said so in the very first sentence of this thread.
 
That was literally last century. Since that time, population has doubled. "Bait" in the form of more banks, more stores,and more people have increased exponentially.
 
4951
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Fallon Active Indicator LED Icon 18
~ 10 years ago   Feb 3, '14 6:32am  
Removed By Request 4951
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ResurrectReagan Active Indicator LED Icon  New Member
~ 10 years ago   Feb 3, '14 6:47am  
Houston got the tax dollars. That's all they wanted. We got HISD, HFD and HPD. Sounds like a fair trade right? Not knocking public servants at all, they just don't have the support to be as effective as they could be. Which is the problem with anything that comes with Houston. 4951
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rundmv Active Indicator LED Icon
~ 10 years ago   Feb 3, '14 7:20am  
KDC is right on target.We were annexed then treated like a step child by the city.  Unwanted, told to be quiet and sit in the corner.We do need more police in our area.  More visible police.  Kingwood has close to 75K people living here, more than 5 police officers just in our area would be a good thing.
 
@Fallon: you base your number of police in kingwood on an obscure YouTube video? You really dont know how many officers are assigned.
 
4951
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rundmv Active Indicator LED Icon
~ 10 years ago   Feb 3, '14 7:23am  
Houston got the tax dollars. That's all they wanted. We got HISD, HFD and HPD. Sounds like a fair trade right? Not knocking public servants at all, they just don't have the support to be as effective as they could be. Which is the problem with anything that comes with Houston.
 
@ResurrectReagan: HISD??? LOL. You are going to cite something as incorrect as annexation giving you HISD and expect to be taken seriously?
 
4951
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Fallon Active Indicator LED Icon 18
~ 10 years ago   Feb 3, '14 7:29am  
Removed By Request 4951
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Fallon Active Indicator LED Icon 18
~ 10 years ago   Feb 3, '14 7:33am  
Removed By Request 4951
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2danes Active Indicator LED Icon 4
~ 10 years ago   Feb 3, '14 7:48am  
If the crime in Kingwood is considered normal that is very sad. You can keep telling yourself crime isn't out of control in all of Houston. But we know thats not true . 4951
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dac1842 Active Indicator LED Icon 3
~ 10 years ago   Feb 3, '14 7:56am  
1- HISD was here long before annexation, the HUMBLE ISD, they did not come with annexation. 2- The crime in Kingwood is due to more opportunity. There are more stores and banks3- HPD does an outstanding job. During off peak times there might only be a couple of units in Kingwood. When I worked for Pct 4 there were many nights I was the Lone Ranger here, my nearest back up was in Atascocita, and that was before the bridge across Lake Houston Parkway.4- The crime here is no worse than the Woodlands, which has a lot bigger police presence thanks to the MCSO and Constables in that area. But they have more crime. They also have more opportunity for crime. 5- How do you curb the crime rate? Well more police presence is one way and probably the most effective. Private businesses and the HOA's can hire off duty police or even security guards to patrol the neighborhoods and greenbelts. Granted a security guard could not make traffic stops, but all you want from a security guard on patrol is to be a deterrent with a marked vehicle, and be eyes and ears when he/she does see something. HPD has a tact squad that will be utilized. These officers respond to hot spots and maybe marked or unmarked cars, they may or may not be in uniform. I have every confidence HPD is throw the resources at this that can be used. The Houston Police Department is one of the finest police departments in the nation. and No, I do not work for them. 4951
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ET Active Indicator LED Icon 17
~ 10 years ago   Feb 3, '14 8:03am  
1) Guess I don't understand why they make it so easy to rob a bank.  Seems like that would be a great place to restrict access, since that is where the money is....why not require an ATM card to get in the door?  Those without would have to provide some method of ID to gain approved access.Second, WTH are there so many banks?  I go in one about once a year and only because I have exhausted all other options.  What do people do in there? Seems like all new construction in KW is either a bank or includes a bank.  Last - if I owned a retail business I would seriously consider discouraging the use of cash.  Everybody has credit and debit cards and the transactions these days are as fast or faster than some kid trying to figure out change for a $9.62 purchase.  Cash seems to be very 1970s. 4951
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angiekaye Active Indicator LED Icon 16
~ 10 years ago   Feb 3, '14 8:07am  
It started with te annexation then our crime starts after Ike. When mayor brown allowed Houston housing out here! He demanded all our apartments and rentals be allowed section 8. This is when the crime started. If you remember our second murder happened just weeks later when those 2 women were killed by that boy from la.
 
Take the above and mix it with our economy. The criminals are moving here because they don't have anyone to rob in the wards of Houston. IMHO 4951
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Fallon Active Indicator LED Icon 18
~ 10 years ago   Feb 3, '14 8:14am  
Removed By Request 4951
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