Police chiefs from Pearland, Alvin and Friendswood were the featured speakers at the quarterly networking breakfast for the PAF Realtor Network held in Pearland on August 4.
The three chiefs spoke to Realtors from the surrounding areas about crime statistics, prevention programs, and much more.
“Y’all are really blessed,” Friendswood Police Chief Robert Wieners said. “Police in the surrounding cities are still policing… We want to work.”
Roberts said that Friendswood City Council has mandated the Friendswood police department to maintain a crime rate of no more than 10 crimes per 1,000 residents.
“We are at 6.1 per 1,000 residents, a rate that is lower than in the 1970’s,” Roberts said.
Friendswood Police Department is in the process of transitioning to a new public safety software which will center on emergency management. Roberts said the software will include pre-planning for any scenario they might face. In the event of an emergency, officers will already have a plan of action at their fingertips.
One of the tools used in Friendswood, Alvin and Pearland police departments is Flock Safety cameras. Flock cameras record vehicle make, type and color. They also read license plates and note missing plates, covered plates and state of the plate. The cameras also note unique features of vehicles such as roof rack, bumper stickers and window stickers.
Flock cameras allow the police to find critical evidence needed to solve crimes, extremely quickly.
“These cameras are a great tool to pre-empt and investigate after the crime,” Roberts said.
Friendswood went live with Flock cameras in December. Pearland also has Flock cameras, and Alvin has 30 cameras coming.
Pearland Police Chief Johnny Spires talked about many of the community programs Pearland has put in place. Some of the programs he discussed were active shooter programs, Police Explorers, Youth Leadership Academy, and a faith-based outreach program called Impact.
These programs center on forming relationships with community members.
“You can’t build a relationship during a crisis,” Spires said.
Spires noted that Pearland’s crime rate is the lowest it has been in 10 years. The rate is down eight percent from a five-year average.
Alvin Police Chief Robert Lee talked about the Alvin Police Department being a Recognized Agency.
He said they get about 27,000 calls for service per year. The most common calls are for theft and shoplifting.
“The most common theft is catalytic converters,” Lee said. He explained that because it is so easy to remove them from vehicles, the problem is wide-spread in the Houston area.
Lee also talked about Alvin’s 9-1-1 emergency call center which has a little known benefit – texting an emergency. Realtors at the meeting were surprised to hear that you can text a 9-1-1 call.
“Call if you can. Text if you can’t,” Lee said.
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