Q: We recently left our garage door open, and a neighbor saw some guys taking things out of the garage to a waiting car parked in the alley. The neighbor called the police with the license number and knocked on our front door to alert us. The thieves evidently saw him, left all our stuff in our garage and drove away. I didn’t see the police arrive and they never contacted us further. Should we have contacted the police later since we were the victims and we still had the license number from our neighbor? We figured since nothing was actually taken, there was no crime.
A: Even though nothing was taken, it is always advisable to call the police anytime that you are a victim of a criminal offense. They might not have taken any property, but they attempted to commit the crime of burglary — that makes this offense “attempted burglary.”
There was also witness information that included a license number of the vehicle they were driving, and information such as this may lead to an arrest, which could possibly solve other similar crimes in the area. If you call the police and do not see them or do not receive a call from the dispatcher, you need to re-dial 911 and ask to speak to a supervisor.
Remember that when you call 911, you need to specifically state that you want the police to come to your location. Also, remember to close your garage door anytime you are not in your garage, and keep it closed even if you are working in the yard.
It only takes a few seconds for suspects to stop and take property from an open garage. Also, keep any unneeded equipment in the garage while doing yard work — take out only what is being used at the time and close the rest up in the garage. Suspects drive around looking for people working in the yard. They wait for them to go into the house or leave the yard and then take equipment left behind.
Remember, it only takes seconds to steal unattended tools from the yard or from an open garage.
Q: I found a spent .38 shell casing on the sidewalk in front of our house. Should I have called the police about this?
It is always advisable to call the police anytime you have suspicious activity or find suspicious items around our neighborhood. The Dallas Police Department prioritizes calls that come into 911. This allows officers to be dispatched to the most serious calls (involving life-threatening situations) first. A found shell casing would be a low priority call, but it is important to the Dallas Police Department that any question or concern that you have be addressed. This shell could be evidence of a crime. If you have question regarding a found casing, please call the Northeast Patrol Station at 214-670-4415 and ask for a supervisor.
Q: How does a school go about getting a crossing guard?
The Dallas Police Department’s Traffic Division is responsible for hiring and supervising school crossing guards. They also coordinate what locations school crossing guards are assigned to work. Applications for assignments are only accepted from the school principal. Requests can be faxed to 214-670-5017.
