Crime Watch
1/13/15
WFAA Story about the Recent Crime in Plano
04/15/2013 A Crime Alert was added to the Message Board. Please check the Message Board for Details or contact Karen Schlosberg for more information!!!!!!!!!!
As a neighborhood community, we have a "No Solicitation" policy and ask our residents to be ever watchful and report any crimes and/or suspicious activity to the police department. Be on the outlook for strange cars parked and/or people canvassing the neighborhood. If people are soliciting, please advise them we are a no-soliciting neighborhood and ask them to leave or call the non-emergency police line.
According to Officer Mark Dawson with the City of Plano police department, there are two very cost effective ways to reduce neighborhood crime. One is to leave your front and back door lights on at night (burglars hate well lit areas) and Neighborhood Crime Watch Associations.
Last year, the City of Plano Police Department answered over 225,000 calls – over 650 per day. Although the City of Plano has not cut jobs in the police department, over the last few years, as officers leave, their positions are not being replaced. As a result, there are fewer patrol officers.
According to Officer Dawson we tend to be reactive rather than proactive – we don’t take preemptive measures until something happens. And, the biggest challenges we face are complacency and apathy.
However, there is a proven method for crime prevention and for avoiding becoming the latest crime statistic – it is Neighborhood Watch. Probably most of you are familiar with Neighborhood Watch which is one of the oldest and best-know crime prevention concepts in the US.
The basic idea is for neighbors to be a good neighbor which means getting to know one another and watching out for each other which in our digital age has become increasingly difficult. By looking after a neighbor’s property as if it were your own, you will more likely contact the police if you observe something suspicious. Citizens act as extra "eyes and ears" for the police department so that calls to the police will be made when criminal activity is suspected. An alert and cooperative neighborhood is the greatest single defense against crime. By getting to know your neighbors and their vehicles, you will most likely be alert to suspicious people, vehicles, and/or sounds that could indicate criminal activity.
Please help prevent burglaries and neighborhood crime. Join the Wentworth Estates Crime initiative. For more information, contact our Neighborhood Watch Coordinator, Karen Schlosberg at 972.985.7498 or kschlosberg@verizon.net.