APD Officer Darrell Grayson Speaks on Crime Prevention

 

Monday evening, March 19, a good-sized group of HPWBANA neighbors turned out at Jorge’s on Hancock to enjoy getting acquainted with each other, the Mexican food buffet, and most of all, Officer Darrell Grayson, our neighborhood Austin Police Department liaison, who talked about crime in our area and prevention strategies.  For those of you who missed this enjoyable although serious evening, here are some of the points Officer Grayson emphasized.

 

He reported that overall, break-ins, both of residences and non-residences (cars for example) are down this year compared to last.  There have been 85 break-in crimes in 78731 from January 1 until now.  This represents a decrease overall, but many of us have noted that in our neighborhoods there seems to have been an uptick.

 

Officer Grayson noted that breaking into a home and carrying off stolen goods can take no more than 5-10 minutes – these thieves are polished and practiced.  Some thieves even have a ‘shopping list’ of items people have requested … some ‘quasi-honest’ people may know they’re buying stolen goods while others may not.  Bottom line to remember is that if it’s too cheap, it may be stolen.

 

A car break-in can happen for nothing more than a visible cell phone charger or other ‘trivial’ item.  Thieves know they can sell it on Ebay or at a weekend flea market, etc.

 

Make it as difficult as possible for thieves to know you are gone:

• For maximum security, have a trusted friend take in your mail and newspaper while you are away – on occasion, someone connected with newspaper delivery/stoppage and/or mail delivery has tipped off ‘bad guys’ that the homeowner is away.
• Minimize Facebook or Twitter publicizing that you are away

 

Neighborhood Watch is a great network – facilitates two-way communication, neighbors to APD and APD conveys information to neighbors.  Everyone know at least 3 neighbors, one  on either side and the one across the street.  Look out for each other.  (note:  there are a few neighborhood watch groups currently functioning in our neighborhoods – the neighborhood association has as a goal for this year increasing them – the time commitment is minimal and benefits are substantial, so please watch for the calls for volunteers and consider seriously joining this effort!)

 

Keep garage doors down – if it’s a nice summer evening and you are enjoying your back yard, keep the garage door down, lock it and the front door.

 

If you are going to have workers at your home –

• let trusted neighbors know – including the work schedule (and when they shouldn’t be there)
• before hiring, get an id (i.e. Texas Driver’s License), send to Officer Grayson, whose contact info is on the HPWBANA website, and he will run a trace on it

 

Door to door solicitors

• are not necessary in this day and age — Girl Scout cookies can be bought at many stores’ entrances
• do not open the door to anyone –
• “Officer Grayson recommends we not do business with you” is a good response to those who would sell merchandise, subscriptions, etc door-to-door.  This enables you to keep your door shut, projects the ‘blame’ elsewhere, and prevents the person from entering and getting an even more detailed look at the contents of your home
• let the City Council know you do not want door-to-door solicitation by unregulated solicitors; this is presently against city code, but is not being enforced by City Council directive.

For suspicious behaviors, dangerous situations –

• use 911 when the action is taking place (even a suspicious vehicle that seems to be repeatedly ‘cruising’ your street
• use 311 when you have observed something you think may be suspicious but it is not going on at the moment (such as reporting the license number of the hypothetical cruising vehicle cited above)  Officer Grayson, if on duty, will take this information as well.

 

 

Mt. Bonnell Clean-up a Success!

The West Point Society sponsored a Mt. Bonnell clean-up this last Saturday under the auspices of the Austin Parks Foundation’s annual It’s My Park Day.  Volunteers included seven members of the Central Texas Mountaineers who rappelled down the steeper slopes to remove litter and help keep one of Austin’s most treasured and visited landmarks in near pristine condition.

The team had eight lines set up at various locations along the western slope and they removed a considerable amount of unsightly litter.  Tommy Blackwell, CTM’s president, created this Youtube Video of the team in action!

Those of you who have visited Covert Park in recent months will have noted that the park’s staff has been doing an excellent job of litter removal on a daily basis for which we are most grateful.

We were pleased to see that work is progressing nicely on the kiosk that PARD is erecting near the top of the stairs. The stone edging has been completed and a gravel surfacing laid down.  Still to go are the stone base and placement of the double sided display board.

Thanks for all your support.

Stan Bacon
WPSCT
512-345-5964

New Board Meeting Location

Thanks to the generosity of Crenshaw’s Athletic Club, the HPWBANA has a new Board meeting location.  The HPWBANA board will now meet at Crenshaw’s Cottage, located at 3301 Hancock between Crenshaw’s Athletic Club and Balcones Drive.  Meetings are held every third Monday of the month, except for December.  The next Board meeting will be on February 20th at 7pm.  *Please note that Board meeting specifics may change due to scheduling conflicts.  Remember to check HPWBANA.org for any changes to the date, time, or location of monthly meetings.   

Welcome to the new and improved HPWBANA.org!

Thanks to our uber talented neighbor, Lauren Cunningham of The Creative Parasol, HPWBANA has a completely redesigned and much improved website!  The new user friendly HPWBANA.org  will better connect neighbors with activities of interest and events happening in and around the neighborhood.

Please feel free to contact Lauren at webmaster@hpwbana.org to offer feedback about anything on the new site. We welcome your input!

AFD and Wildfire Prevention

HPWBANA is supporting discussions between the Austin Fire Department and communities to make our homes and the area safer from the impact of wildfires.

On Nov 16, the Beverly Hood neighborhood held a Wildfire Defense Meeting with AFD Personnel.  The Beverly Hood neighborhood is the no outlet area starting at Westview Dr, off Ridge Oak Dr.  This neighborhood is organizing a Firewise Committee to really understand the local fire threats and take action to fire harden their homes.  Firewise.org is a great resource and Lt Josh Portie is our local AFD point of contact.

Photo: Ben Norwood and Ethan Friedman, both 9, with two AFD fire fighters.