Crime Watch

Contact crimewatch@lstreets.org to get involved in our Crime Watch planning group or to pass on info.

We send Weekly Crime Watch News and Tips every Friday and Crime Watch Alerts as needed using an email list. Visit the News and Events webpage to subscribe to the email list. We are working on other ways to communicate rapidly with the entire neighborhood.

The L Streets News has an archive for Crime Watch Tips and Safety Tips.

Many L Streets residents participate in social media activity to do things like share crime info, discuss our neighborhood, or reunite lost pets with owners. The L Streets Neighborhood Association uses social media as a part of its communication strategy. Visit the News and Events webpage to find info on what social media we use.

Crime Watch 101, It's All About Safety

As a Crime Watch community we can feel safer, because we are safer.

We all want to feel safe because that need is built-in to us. Feeling safe is a thing that we as individuals pursue in our lives. We also need our families and other people in our lives to feel safe.

One thing that makes us feel safe is knowing that we are protected from harm. As a nation and in our communities we have created and support many high-level organizations that are responsible for and provide us with protection from harm. As healthy individuals we naturally want to protect ourselves, our children, our families, our friends, our communities, and our nation from harm.

Crime Watch is a way for the L Streets Neighborhood to come together in a single-minded effort to protect our entire community from harm. Protecting ourselves, our families, and our property is a very important thing for each of us, because it makes us safe. When we adopt an attitude to protect people and property around where we live we can multiply everyone's effort. Crime Watch is a multiplier, because when we as individuals AND other people around where we live are actively protecting our lives and property the risk for being in harm's way will be significantly reduced for us all.

Basic Crime Watch is Three Simple Things

Every resident of the L Streets Neighborhood can do Crime Watch. The basic building block is that each of us makes a conscious choice to take action when needed to protect people and property. The bottom line for Crime Watch is all about the attitude of each individual, not lots of activity. To adopt a Crime Watch attitude is about being three things:

• Being willing to call 9-1-1. When you notice suspicious or criminal activity call 9-1-1 as soon as you are able.
• Being observant. Anyone can adopt an observant attitude on a daily basis by being alert and aware of what is going on in their part of the neighborhood. Each of us can easily decide when something might be out of the ordinary.
• Being in communication. Communication is a two-way street. Get to know your front door, back door, and both side neighbors better by sharing contact info. It's not "being nosy" to be familiar with your neighbors' habits and vehicles — instead, it alerts you when something is out of the ordinary. To get involved in our Crime Watch planning group or to pass on info contact crimewatch@lstreets.org. Our Crime Watch Alert emails are sent as needed when a serious incident occurs or when our help has been requested by authorities. Weekly Crime Watch Tips and News emails are sent each Friday. Use the subscription form to join our email list. We are working on other ways to communicate rapidly with the neighborhood.

You can see that Crime Watch is not activity that requires a lot of time, it's mainly an attitude. Our goal is that the L Streets remain a safe and valuable place to live.

Call 9-1-1 to Report Suspicious or Criminal Activity

Suspicious or criminal activity should be reported by calling 9-1-1 as soon as you are able. Anything that seems slightly "out of place" or is happening at an unusual time of day might be criminal activity. Don't worry that you're bothering the police or about being embarrassed if your suspicions prove to be unfounded. Think about what might happen to people or property if you don't act.

After you complete your call to 9-1-1, you may want share info with neighbors that live around you so they can be made aware of the incident — that's your choice — but when you pass information along to neighbors it can alert the entire neighborhood to be "on the lookout." To get the word out to a large group of L Streets neighbors you can make a post on Nextdoor or our Facebook page. Info on Nextdoor and Facebook are on our News and Events page.

About Calling 9-1-1

Never place yourself in harm's way trying to get details about suspicious or criminal activity that you observe. Details can help police a lot, but it's very important that if you need to get to a safe place, you do so before you call.

If you're driving when you observe suspicious or criminal activity find a safe place to pull over and park to make your 9-1-1 call. Your call may be garbled or can disconnect if you're moving, and it's safer if you don't talk while driving.

When contacting 9-1-1 it's important for you to be able to articulate:

• Your location and phone number if calling from a cell/mobile phone.
• Who you observed (a description).
• What did you see? Be specific.
• Where was it?
• When did you see it?
• Why in your opinion was it suspicious? Remember, you are more aware of what's normal for our neighborhood than anyone else, but you need to be able to communicate that.

To describe a person, provide information on as many of the following as possible:

• Race, sex, and age.
• Height, weight, and hair color.
• Peculiarities like scars, tattoos, missing limbs - any noticeable features.
• Weapons, if any.
• Clothing description. Type, color, coat, hat, shoes...
• Method and direction of travel.

To describe a vehicle, try to provide:

• License plate of vehicle (most important).
• Year, make, and model of vehicle - at least the type of vehicle.
• Color of vehicle.
• Damage or outstanding features (one headlight, broken taillight, logos, special paint, special rims/tires, roof rack, antennae etc.)

Recognizing Suspicious Activity

This information about signs of suspicious activity comes from Dallas Police Department training materials. It is focused on what to be aware of while on a patrol, but it does provide all of us with some ideas we may not have thought about.

What is Suspicious Activity?

"Am I witnessing a crime?" Most of us have found ourselves wondering this at some time or other. However, because we are not really sure, we tend to hope it wasn't something bad and continue about our business. PEOPLE AREN'T SUSPICIOUS, BUT ACTIVITY MIGHT BE!

Here are some signs of suspicious activity:

• Unusual noises, including gunshots, screaming, sounds of fighting, barking dogs, or anything suggesting foul play, danger, or illegal activity.
• A person running would be suspicious if he or she were looking about furtively, as if he or she were being watched or chased.
• A stranger carrying property at an unusual hour or location, especially if the items are television sets, stereo equipment, office machinery, a locked bicycle, or lawn care equipment.
• A person going door-to-door in an office building or a residential area may be looking for an opportunity to steal.
• A stranger trying to gain entry into a residence, especially through a rear entrance, garage door, or window.
• Any person forcibly entering a locked vehicle, especially at night and in a driveway, is highly suspicious.
• Property in vehicles. This may not be suspicious unless the property is of an unusual nature: television sets, stereo equipment, lawn care equipment, or auto parts. Possible significance: could be stolen property.
• Transactions being conducted from vehicles, especially near schools or parks. You may be witnessing an illegal drug sale or sale of stolen property.
• One or more persons sitting in a parked car closely scanning the area around them may be lookouts for a burglary or robbery in progress, or for a crime being planned.
• Certain moving vehicles, such as vehicles moving slowly, running without lights, or one that keeps passing the same area. It could be casing a building or house to burglarize, someone pushing drugs, or someone planning another crime such as a robbery, kidnapping, or sex offense.
• A person (especially a juvenile or female) being forced into a vehicle may be a kidnapping.
• A person exhibiting unusual mental or physical symptoms may have been injured in an accident, be under the influence of alcohol, drugs or medications, or otherwise need medical or psychiatric assistance.

You Can Protect People and Property

When you observe suspicious or criminal activity it should be reported by calling 9-1-1 as soon as you are able. Anything that seems slightly "out of place" or is happening at an unusual time of day might be criminal activity. Don't worry that you're bothering the police or about being embarrassed if your suspicions prove to be unfounded. Think about what might happen to people or property if you don't act.

Volunteers in Patrol (VIP)

One of our Crime Watch goals is to re-energize and support a sustainable VIP group in the L Streets Neighborhood. Trained Volunteers in Patrol may log hours by pairing up to patrol in a vehicle or by doing something a lot of us already do, walking, running, or biking through the neighborhood.

We will let you know when a Dallas Police Department VIP training class is taking place via our Monthly and Weekly emails or you can contact vip@lstreets.org for info on the VIP program and to let them know to contact you about upcoming classes.

What is VIP?

The VIP program is for anyone interested in keeping your home, our neighborhood, and the city of Dallas a safer and more valuable place to live. The purpose of VIP is to provide a visible presence in our neighborhood as a deterrent to criminal activity.

VIP IS NON-CONFRONTATIONAL and those on patrol only act as witnesses to report suspicious or criminal activity by calling 9-1-1.

Regardless of whether you have time to do regular patrols as a part of the L Streets VIP team, every L Streets resident can benefit from the VIP training. You learn:

• The best way to call 9-1-1 by using keywords to bump your call to higher priority.
• How to be more observant on a daily basis.
• Ways to recognize suspicious or criminal activity.
• Tips for home and personal safety.

What You Must Do to Get VIP Training

To sign up for a class you must meet the requirements and submit a completed application form, confidentiality agreement, and waiver of liability to Senior Corporal Katherine Robinson. Notification that you want to take a class and your forms may be emailed to katherine.robinson@dpd.ci.dallas.tx.us or dropped off at the Northeast Police Station. Requirements and the signup forms are located on the DPD Volunteer Program webpage.

Sources for Info on Crime and Safety

The L Streets Neighborhood Association

We share info on incidents of crime in and around our neighborhood and info about crime prevention and safety in several ways:

• Crime Watch Alert emails are sent as needed when a serious incident occurs or when our help has been requested by authorities. Use the subscription form to join our email list.
• The L Streets News page features an archive for Crime Watch Tips and Safety Tips.
• Nextdoor and Facebook. Info on these is on our News and Events page.
• Block Captains may contact you with info on criminal or suspicious activity, ways to prevent crime, and to find out how we can contact you.
• L Streets Neighborhood Association General Meetings and Crime Watch Group Meetings will always have a report or discussion about crime.

City of Dallas

Dallas Police Public Data

The Dallas Police Public Data Viewer - Offense Incidents Records webpage is an easy way to get details about crime in and around our neighborhood. We recommend that you search by Reporting Area and to help you do that here is a mashup map that shows our two Reporting Areas (1077 and 1089) and the surrounding Reporting Areas.

View Large Map of Reporting Areas - 617 kB JPEG

When looking at the map you will notice that the L Streets Neighborhood has two reporting areas. Reporting Area 1077 is located north of McCree Rd. Reporting Area 1089 is located south of McCree Rd. There are nine Reporting Areas that surround the L Streets and they are (clockwise from 12 o'clock) 1071, 8821, 9609, 1099, 1098, 6024, 1088, 1076, and 1070.

To use the Dallas Police Public Data Viewer enter a four digit number for the Reporting Area field and hit submit. You should get a report that lists all incidents for the Reporting Area you have specified. The database is updated once a day in the early a.m., so nothing will be listed for the current day. To view the Offense Record for a specific incident click the "Incident #" to the left. You may sort results by clicking each field name that runs across the top. The default sort is date descending.

You may also use the Dallas Police Public Data Viewer to search by Beat number. Our two Reporting Areas are located in Beat 248. Enter 248 for the Reporting Area field and hit submit. You should get a report that lists all incidents in Beat 248.

FYI Beat 248 is part of Sector 240 which is part of the Dallas Police Department's Northeast Division. East and south of Sector 240 is Sector 230. If you want maximum detail the Dallas Police Department website has a City Maps page where you can get PDF maps for all of Dallas.

City of Dallas Open Data Portal

The City of Dallas Open Data Portal has a data catalog that includes Dallas Police Department data. Warning, it is complex to use. To save your dataset you must have a user account. If you choose to spend time here a good starting point is the Dallas Police Public Data - RMS Incidents dataset which you can use as a basis for your dataset. There is also a dataset named Dallas Police Public Data - RMS Incidents-With GeoLocation that contains map coordinates, but it's likely that you would not need the extra info.

National Crime Prevention Council

The National Crime Prevention Council's mission is to help people keep themselves, their families, and their communities safe from crime. The NCPC website features information about their current campaigns and a resources page for you to get practical advice about the many aspects of crime prevention and safety.

National Safety Council

The National Safety Council's mission is to save lives by preventing injuries and deaths at work, in homes and communities, and on the roads through leadership, research, education and advocacy. The Council is data driven, relying on research to inform best practice solutions to safety issues. The NSC website features solid knowledge about safety.