District 1 Appoints Sgt. Reed to B.A.R.S. Unit

District One is getting a Burglary Apprehension Response Squad (B.A.R.S.) Unit. Sgt. Mary Reed will be the BARS supervisor of the nine deputies assigned to the Unit.

The nine deputies are to be selected from the Patrol Bureau applicants.

The BARS Unit in District 4 has been instrumental in drastically reducing the number of burglaries and increasing the recovery rate. The recovery rate of stolen items has been well above the national average.

To have your home burglarized is a very unsettling feeling because, not only do you loose personal property, but your private space has been violated. A burglary to your home can leave a lasting effect on the whole family for years to come.

Good luck to Sgt. Reed, the District One BARS Unit and the nine deputies to be selected.

Sign up for the Citizen's Police Academy

Lt. Chris Lee is taking applications for the next Citizen's Police Academy (CPA) to start later in the fall. Registration will be closed as of October 1, 2002 for this new class. Selection will be on the first come, first serve basis.

This class is opened to Security Coordinators and Board of Directors of the subdivisions and the Water Boards. CPA gives you the overview of what it takes to become a law enforcement officer and what they are up against in their daily routine. Applicants are notified of class dates, times and meeting place.

There are field trips - one to the Academy and one to the downtown jail system. You will be in simulation traffic stops, drive the skid car, overview of the law, and much more. You will not want to miss a class.

CPA is the most interesting, informative 36 hours you will ever encounter. Send in a new application to be sure you are included in this class.

Sergeant T. J. Bohannan Update

Sgt. T. J. Bohannan is making a remarkable recovery. He will be going home soon. There are still more levels to be reached but he has really come a long way. Keep T. J. and his family in your prayers.

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

The members and the Board of Directors of Northwest Security Coordinators meet once a quarter. There are times when you can not make one of these informative meetings and we understand that. We do encourage networking with neighboring security coordinators during the year.

Before the next NWSCA newsletter, you will be called and asked a few questions. Questions about yourself, how many homes in your contract, the key map location of your contract, how many people on the Board of Directors for the subdivision, the address of the Homeowners Association, and month of your annual meeting.

A copy of the quarterly Harris County Sheriff's Newsletter will be sent to you and your board.

Starting with the next newsletter, four or five of the coordinators will be introduced in short articles taken from the questions.

The key map location of your contract area will allow us to watch the trends of crime. The object of the NWSCA is share problems that are occurring in our contracts.

The number of households that NWSCA represents equals an average Texas town. Our numbers alone should make law makers take notice. Together we can get things done, alone we are just another complaining subdivision. There are many problems that need to be addressed as a group.

Call the Station 

The contract problem solver for the coordinators is Sgt. Ken Ligouri. His pager number is 713-760-7947. Cypresswood station is 281-376-2997 and the District One storefront is 281-445-9892.

Sgt. Ligouri can help you if you need to change a deputy's hours, or if you are having a crime problem in your contract. He is good at crime solving.

If you are not in agreement with your monthly report, call Kristi Parrot 281-376-2997. She can explain how they arrive at the numbers that are in your report. Sometimes the problem is not the numbers, but how the call was dispatched.

A typical scenario would be a call that goes out for a vehicle, stolen in the city of Houston. However, the owner of the vehicle preferred to report it from their home, located in the county. Therefore, a stolen vehicle on your report will appear as if it were taken from your neighborhood, which it was not.

This is the reason you are issued the statistics and the grid report. Heads up.

National Night Out 2003 

The object of National Night Out is to get neighbors to step outside of their home and join forces against crime. Neighbors knowing neighbors is the first step in community crime prevention. This year, it seems that most people were afraid to step outside. Not because of the crime that might be lurking around, but the mosquitoes and the scare of West Nile Virus.

National Night Out is a wonderful idea started in PA., but the date is not good for us in the south. August is one of our hottest months. Our kids have started back to school and parents are gearing up for the school activities. For the south the Spring or Fall would be better timing.

But there is no rule that neighbors must only meet their neighbors on National Night Out. Why not encourage your neighborhood to have block parties?

It is never too early planning for National Night Out 2003. The Harris County Sheriff's Department has many divisions that can and will help your neighborhood. National Night Out 2003 need your advanced planning. If you are interested in having your neighborhood visited by the horse patrol, Dare Car, Command Station, the robot, helicopter, or any of the departments, sign up at the next NWSC meeting.

The end result of each National Night Out is to get neighbors to step outside, lock their doors, meet their neighbors and be aware of Crime Prevention.

NWSCA to Sponsor Home Safety Expo 

March 16, 2003, Northwest Security Coordinator's Association and District One Harris County Sheriff's Department will present a Home Safety Expo in the 1960 area. It is our goal to make available to the homeowners of Harris County the many vendors that can assist them to make their homes and property a safer and more secure place in which to live.

It has been several years since this type of Expo has been offered to area residents. As you know, there are always new and improved security items on the market.  

Child safety is an important part of our everyday life. There will be trained deputies to check car seats and show parents the proper way to secure their children in the car seats as well as checking to see if the children are properly belted. It is surprising how many parents think they are driving around with their child securely fastened in the car seat, yet the car seat is not secured in the most effect position.

The Expo is geared to home security and improvement. There will be many things to see and inspect. Most of the vendors will supply product information and handouts to be read at your leisure.

Any suggestions you might want to pass along to the storefront will be greatly appreciated. The more ideas that we can expand on, the better we can address the communities needs.   

Call the Storefront 281-445-9892 and they will be happy to hear from you. You are encouraged to get donations for door prizes.

Dues Paid for 2002