Vehicle Burglaries

I was having lunch with the North Police Chief, Leland Strickland at the "Prince" on Randol Mill one day.  As we were standing in line to pay the bill, a lady came up to him and asked if he would step into the parking lot.  Her van had been burglarized in broad daylight, in the parking lot.  A computer was stolen from the van and the side window was broken out.  I want to bring this to your attention because car burglaries are very prevalent in North Arlington, and there are simple/common sense precautions that can be taken to help prevent you from becoming a victim.  Here are some suggestions:

1. Take your keys with you.
2. Lock your car.
3. Park in attended lots if possible.
4. Completely close your car doors.
5. Take your valuables with you or hide them.
6. If you take your items out of the car and place them in the trunk, be advised that burglars might be watching you do this.
7. Park in your garage if possible, and lock your garage and the vehicle inside the garage.
8. Replace any T shaped lock handles with straight locks.
9. Engrave your driver's license number on any expensive accessories.  Engravers cost less than $10.
10. If possible install visible alarm systems.
11. Utilize wheel locks/lugs.
12. When possible avoid parking between large vehicles.  They provide cover criminals.
13. Remove detachable radio faceplates when able.

Many times you can observe suspicious behavior.  If you see any of the following behavior please dial 911 and report it to a dispatcher:

• Pulling door handles
• Looking in windows
• Odd clothing for the time of year (long coats or gloves being worn in summer)
• Lookouts
• Nervous looking behavior (constantly looking around, rapid movements)
• Checking for alarms by bumping windows or bumpers for sensitivity.

Tomorrow is National Night Out, so talk to the officers to see if there has been any auto burglaries reported in your neighborhoods.  Talk about some of these precautions to see how you can better protect your possessions.  But most of all watch for suspicious behavior in your neighborhoods and report it.  Be a proactive neighbor!  Hope to see you tomorrow evening.

One Observant Lady

I had the pleasure of having lunch yesterday with the North Police Chief, Leland Strickland.  He told me of an arrest concerning a burglar that was operating in the Monopoly Street area, and around the Canty and Randy Snow apartment complexes.  Common procedure is to canvas the area and ask the neighbors if they had seen anything suspicious.  One lady not only said yes, but gave a description of the vehicle, complete with license plate.

The car was located and the residence was put under surveillance.  After selling some stolen merchandise, the items were a match to a burglary in the above area.  The suspect was apprehended, and during questioning a cache of guns was located at another apartment.  I wanted to bring this to your attention because of the action/observation of one lady that saw something out of the ordinary.  She didn’t call 911, but she should have.  She had vital information and didn’t think that it was important enough to bother the police with it.  You are the eyes and ears of the community.  You have the power to help stop bad people from committing crimes in your neighborhoods.  This lady is to be commended for her situational awareness and attention to detail.  Without her astute observation the bad guys would still be on the street putting our possessions at risk.  If something looks suspicious or out of place, it probably is, so dial 911.

National Night Out is Tuesday, October 1st.  Just in North Arlington alone, there will be 30 different gatherings to celebrate this event.  We have remarkable people watching over us on the Arlington Police Force.  The closer our relationship can become, the better we will be served as a community.  I hope to see several of you Tuesday night.  

Arlington Signage

One of the items that I put on my door hangers during my campaign was Arlington Signage welcoming visitors to our city.  This is an example of seeing something that needed to be accomplished and the City Manager and Staff already taking this for action. 

The city received a grant from the state in 2012, for the beautification of state thoroughfares.  The amount of the grant was $310,000, and the city added another $50,000 from the general fund.  The above sign will be 20’x 20’, with letters that will be 2’ high.  The sign will be illuminated with different colors at night to accentuate the visibility.  Placement of the first two signs will be along I-30, near Randol Mill going east, and near the Crown Plaza going westbound.  Additional signs of the same type will be located along I-20 and 360 in the coming years.  Construction is scheduled for early summer 2014.

In addition to these signs, there will be different signs in our city to designate the entertainment district.  These will be 30’ high and will cost $450,000.  They will be funded through the hotel occupancy tax.  Their placement will be within the city to designate the boundaries of the entertainment district.

Back In Town

Just a note to say that I am back in town after the annual vacation to the islands.  Leisure time is over, I feel rejuvenated and ready to get back to work doing the city's business.  However, while I was gone there were a few incidents that were of significant impact to our community.  First, there was a fire at 700 Kyle Dr. the day that I left.  Station 8 Firefighters arrived on the scene at 11:50 and the fire was extinguished at 12:50.  This was a very damaging fire, almost a total loss.  The fire was believed to have started in the attic and or garage area. 

The second event was the double homicide at 2100 Madison Dr. near Whole Foods on Sept 7th.  On Sept 11 two suspects in the case were arrested.  On 13 Sept a third suspect was arrested.  Anibal Hernandez of Arlington and Miguel Trevino of Euless are both charged with Murder and the third suspect faces charges of Tampering with Evidence. 

What I want to bring to your attention is the fact that we live in a world where your life can be altered or terminated in an instant.  There are bad people in this world everywhere you go.  But there are also people like the first responders in both of these incidents that go above and beyond their calling.  I am always amazed at the efficiency of the committed professionals that respond to emergencies in our community.  I want to simply say thank you to the Arlington Firefighters and Police Officers that make our community a safer place to live.