crime

Dallas Police Department: Photo by Danny Fulgencio

We’ve been reporting recently on the rise of “Apple Picking,” also known as stealing your iPhone.

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It is happening so frequently nationwide and in our neighborhood that the officers of the Dallas Northeast Police held a meeting to talk to our neighborhood about these and other petty crimes.

The Lochwood Neighborhood Association posted the entire audio of the meeting. Unfortunately, due to no video, we miss the introduction of the undoubtedly adorable K9s in attendance, but you can tell from the rousing applause for them that the turnout was large.

The best part, they logged the minutes of the meeting, so you can forward to the part of the audio that interests you.

Meeting minutes:

Speakers:
Barbara Arredondo – Old Lake Highland President
John Jones – Lochwood Communications & Media
District 9 City Councilman Mark Clayton
Deputy Chief Andrew Acord
Sergeant Ross Salverino
Lieutenant Eric Webb
NPO Officer Katie Robinson
NPO Officer Mickey Hicks
Sam Samaha – filling in for the OLH Security Director

00:00
Barbara Arredondo – Call the meeting to order.
Purpose of meeting.
Introduction of neighborhood’s represented and speakers.

01:29
John Jones – Introduction of speakers.

02:20
District 9 City Councilman Mark Clayton – Thanks to those attending, the DPD.
Introduction of Chief Acord.

04:47
Deputy Chief Acord – Introduction of NE Division Staff, Volunteer VIP & Crime Analyst.

07:28 – Overview of DPD speakers.
08:46 – Summary of the 6 robberies and action taken.
14:07 – Talks about individual arrests. First arrest described in detail.
16:29 – 6 officers involved in first arrest and recognized. (standing ovation)
17:32 – Second arrest described in detail.
18:55 – 9 officers and 2 K9 officers involved in second arrest and recognized. (so)

22:06
Sergeant Ross Salverino – Robbery Unit. Process described.
Investigating individual, business robberies and kidnapping.
Unit has highest conviction rate of any dept.
Most popular stolen item nationwide is the smart phone. Epidemic for last 2 years.

29:45
Deputy Chief Acord – Crime stats.
11 straight years of crime reduction. Leads nation.
2015 citywide down 1%
NE Station down 2%
Burglaries are flat – same as last year at this time.

32:05
Lieutenant Eric Webb – information on area burglaries. Process.
13 detectives in unit investigating of burglaries, theft, etc.
Garage and shed burglaries, auto break-ins, auto part theft.
1 home invasion attempt on Bon Aire.

34:22
Deputy Chief Acord – NE Division area information. Ways to reduce crime.
Largest in city. 87 sq/miles. Busiest station in Dallas.
Station has 275 officers overlooking a population of 287,000 (2010 census).
Crime watch groups
VIP program. Ask NPO’s.
Pay off-duty officer to neighborhood patrol.

38:25
NPO Officer Katie Robinson – VIP – Volunteers In Patrol information.
Extra presence in neighborhood. Non-confrontational.
Be eyes and ears of neighborhood. Teams of 2 to patrol streets and alleys.
Class information.

43:55
NPO Officer Mickey Hicks – crime prevention tips.
Garage door closed. Lighting. Report unlit street light to 311.
Operation ID – mark your property. Record serial numbers and keep in safe place.
Security surveys conducted for free by Officer Mitch Gaston.
Robberies – don’t be a target. Report suspicious activity.

52:45
Deputy Chief Acord – Closing remarks.
Thanks to communities and DPD/NE staff.

54:52
Sam Samana – OLH VIP Program
20 VIP people. Goal to get to 40.
New website. NA positions open.

59:00
NPO Officer Mickey Hicks and Katie Robinson – Nextdoor
People confuse posting crime occurrence on Nextdoor as same as calling 911.
Careful with wording. Be accurate. First call 911.

1:02:09 – Q&A

1:02:33
Q1: Should we go out w/o cell phone?
A1: No. Hide it in a pocket.

1:03:30
Q2: Were all six robberies armed robberies?
A2: All were armed.

1:04:00
Statement by resident about educating yourself with crime.

1:06:10
Statement by husband of woman robbed in OLH.

1:11:08
Q3: What way can residents show our support? Lists ideas.
A1: All of the above.

1:12:47
Q4: Comment on drug reactions reported and responded to?
A4: Call NPO if suspect drug house. Patterns of visitors.
“Excited Delirium” drug reactions explained.

1:15:20
Q5: VIP training – why 4 hour long class? Why slow response to 911 calls?
A5: VIP class – how to report suspicious activity accurately and effectively.
Process of patrolling, identifying and reporting occurances.
911 calls are given a number priority 1 – 4 level. Explains.

1:20:03
Q6: Were the people that were robbed walking a dog?
A6: No.

1:20:16
Q7: Is there an alternate number to call other than 911?
A7: No. Call 911.

1:21:20
Story of bad experience with identity theft
Leaving a check outside to be picked up.

1:23:40
Q8: 1. Update on incident of man in Casa View getting stabbed
in hand in Casa View.
Q8: 2. What does the DPD need so we can lobby the city to get it?
A8: 1. 3-4 week old incident. Street person, possibly homeless,
approached resident with knife. Has not been arrested but has not
happened again in that area or other nearby areas.
A8: 2. Your support is valuable. Contact your council member to
let them know how you feel about supporting public safety, which makes up
60% of the annual budget.

1:28:25
Barbara Arredondo thanks everyone.