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Texas community ends police patrol contract
SG
Member Posts: 7,548
Ends up getting a 61% decrease in crime. Maybe other towns with corrupt pd's will start following suit.http://www.newseveryday.com/articles/10102/20150303/texas-town-cuts-crime-61-firing-police.htm
Comments
Their HAS TO BE some good cops out there or,the wheels of society would have already fallen off....Right?
It even says on their website: Call 9-1-1 if there is an immediate threat to loss of life or property.
Based on their website Sharpstown is not a Town, but rather a collection of private subdivisions. The SEAL security detail only patrols during the day and evening, and it doesn't appear that they do the Law enforcement with in the community, that is still provided by the Houston Police Dept. So IMO the article is misleading.
It even says on their website: Call 9-1-1 if there is an immediate threat to loss of life or property.
Whatever the case might be, it appears they are now policed by the noted company rather than typical (Houston) policemen.
quote:Originally posted by shilowar
Based on their website Sharpstown is not a Town, but rather a collection of private subdivisions. The SEAL security detail only patrols during the day and evening, and it doesn't appear that they do the Law enforcement with in the community, that is still provided by the Houston Police Dept. So IMO the article is misleading.
It even says on their website: Call 9-1-1 if there is an immediate threat to loss of life or property.
Whatever the case might be, it appears they are now policed by the noted company rather than typical (Houston) policemen.
Well no, they may have hired a security patrol to patrol their neighborhoods, but if a crime occurs they still have to call the police to investigate the crime. Nothing in the literature on the website says anything about reporting crimes to SEAL security. Patrolling and policing are two different actions, they exist to deter property crimes (which is great) but it is not the samething as replacing the police dept.
It is a subdivision within the City of Houston, which is in the county of Harris.
Any subdivision can have the same result (drop in crime) by initiating their own Neighborhood Watch program, but that would entail their having to make a little effort, and do a little work.
As previously stated, any actual crime that happens is investigated & reported by HPD, and or the Harris County Sheriff's Dpt.
Trinity +++
Sharpstown is not a town, and never had it's own PD.
It is a subdivision within the City of Houston, which is in the county of Harris.
Any subdivision can have the same result (drop in crime) by initiating their own Neighborhood Watch program, but that would entail their having to make a little effort, and do a little work.
As previously stated, any actual crime that happens is investigated & reported by HPD, and or the Harris County Sheriff's Dpt.
Trinity +++
Yeah I am not familiar with the various political subdivisions in Texas but it appeared to me that this was not a government entity ie Town. So the title and the article are intentionally misleading.
Based on their website Sharpstown is not a Town, but rather a collection of private subdivisions. The SEAL security detail only patrols during the day and evening, and it doesn't appear that they do the Law enforcement with in the community, that is still provided by the Houston Police Dept. So IMO the article is misleading.
It even says on their website: Call 9-1-1 if there is an immediate threat to loss of life or property.
The quote is correct,, EXCEPT where it stated "So IMO the article is misleading" IT IS MISLEADING,, no doubt about it. Including the picture of the police which have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING even remotely,, the page and site appear to have nothing to offer and use "made up" headlines and photos to drive (herd?) traffic to their site.
Proclaim this to be pure, unadulterated:
Even the photograph,, with this caption:
quote:Photo : Bo Rader/Wichita Eagle/TNS via Getty Images) A fan is subdued by police officers after he came onto the field in the fourth quarter in the Valero Alamo Bowl at the Alamodome in San Antonio on Friday, Jan. 2, 2015. UCLA defeated Kansas State, 40-35.
There is some competition in education. A good thing.
- It would be nice to have alternatives in Law enforcement.
- It woud be nice to have consolidation in law enforcement. We have a little town with 3 retired captains all making big wage & benefit packages.
Gov in general needs competition on many levels to get lean & mean.[;)]
Maybe they should of said it was a 61% reduction in revenue generation for the local PD's?
quote:Originally posted by kimi
quote:Originally posted by shilowar
Based on their website Sharpstown is not a Town, but rather a collection of private subdivisions. The SEAL security detail only patrols during the day and evening, and it doesn't appear that they do the Law enforcement with in the community, that is still provided by the Houston Police Dept. So IMO the article is misleading.
It even says on their website: Call 9-1-1 if there is an immediate threat to loss of life or property.
Whatever the case might be, it appears they are now policed by the noted company rather than typical (Houston) policemen.
Well no, they may have hired a security patrol to patrol their neighborhoods, but if a crime occurs they still have to call the police to investigate the crime. Nothing in the literature on the website says anything about reporting crimes to SEAL security. Patrolling and policing are two different actions, they exist to deter property crimes (which is great) but it is not the samething as replacing the police dept.
Okay, then they have saved a lot of money by not having to deal with the police they claimed to have fired and enjoy a big reduction in crime...provided the stroy is believeable.
How is it misleading? The community ended their contract with their constable and hired private security to patrol the neighborhoods such in turn made the crime rate drop 61% and saved almost a quarter million annually in doing so. Of course local PD's are still present and are still called for investigating crimes.
Maybe they should of said it was a 61% reduction in revenue generation for the local PD's?
First of all it is not a town(lie #1), it is neighborhood, secondly they didn't fire the police(lie #2), they ended a contract with the constable. They still need the police to respond to emergencies, and crimes that occur in their neighborhood. All they did was hire a security company to provide ONE service, neighborhood patrols. I would hope property crimes would drop if you hire 3 security officers to patrol your neighborhoods non-stop during the day while folks are at work.
quote:Originally posted by SG
How is it misleading? The community ended their contract with their constable and hired private security to patrol the neighborhoods such in turn made the crime rate drop 61% and saved almost a quarter million annually in doing so. Of course local PD's are still present and are still called for investigating crimes.
Maybe they should of said it was a 61% reduction in revenue generation for the local PD's?
First of all it is not a town(lie #1), it is neighborhood, secondly they didn't fire the police(lie #2), they ended a contract with the constable. They still need the police to respond to emergencies, and crimes that occur in their neighborhood. All they did was hire a security company to provide ONE service, neighborhood patrols. I would hope property crimes would drop if you hire 3 security officers to patrol your neighborhoods non-stop during the day while folks are at work.
So Sharpstown isn't a town and each neighborhood has their own Constable? OK,maybe they didn't "fire" them technically,they just relieved them from patrolling the neighborhood without pay.quote:Originally posted by shilowar
quote:Originally posted by SG
How is it misleading? The community ended their contract with their constable and hired private security to patrol the neighborhoods such in turn made the crime rate drop 61% and saved almost a quarter million annually in doing so. Of course local PD's are still present and are still called for investigating crimes.
Maybe they should of said it was a 61% reduction in revenue generation for the local PD's?
First of all it is not a town(lie #1), it is neighborhood, secondly they didn't fire the police(lie #2), they ended a contract with the constable. They still need the police to respond to emergencies, and crimes that occur in their neighborhood. All they did was hire a security company to provide ONE service, neighborhood patrols. I would hope property crimes would drop if you hire 3 security officers to patrol your neighborhoods non-stop during the day while folks are at work.
I imagine that Harris County Sheriff's Office or the Houston PD, which ever is primary LE Agency of that community still patrols that neighborhood, as they do all the other areas of their jurisdiction.
The article's agenda and clear intent is to infer that a Town (government political subdivision) removed its law enforcement services and hired private security contractors. That is simply not accurate. As I have said, that you conveniently ignore is that this community is not a government entity, and they still rely on local government law enforcement agencies for all of their services. The only thing the security company provides in neighborhood patrols, that is NOT the same as providing police services.
Shilowar,didn't the Supreme Court rule that gov. law enforcement has no duty or obligation to protect the citizens?
What does that have to do with the fact that the author of the above story lied and misrepresented the facts?
a specific legal duty to an individual with in the context of the facts of that particular case.
Warren v. DC
The trial judges held that the police were under no specific legal duty to provide protection to the individual plaintiffs and dismissed the complaints.
The Court explained that "[t]he duty to provide public services is owed to the public at large, and, absent a special relationship between the police and an individual, no specific legal duty exists."
It would be nice to have competition in aspects of Government...
There is some competition in education. A good thing.
- It would be nice to have alternatives in Law enforcement.
- It woud be nice to have consolidation in law enforcement. We have a little town with 3 retired captains all making big wage & benefit packages.
Gov in general needs competition on many levels to get lean & mean.[;)]
A good thought.
quote:Originally posted by wpage
It would be nice to have competition in aspects of Government...
There is some competition in education. A good thing.
- It would be nice to have alternatives in Law enforcement.
- It woud be nice to have consolidation in law enforcement. We have a little town with 3 retired captains all making big wage & benefit packages.
Gov in general needs competition on many levels to get lean & mean.[;)]
A good thought.
Pwillie,the local Sheriff is the only legitimate law enforcement (atleast that's the way its supposed to be)and trumps any federally appointed law enforcement within his or her jurisdiction.
Politically, the sheriff has the power over the city and county, but not the state police...at least that's what my wife says, and she is a magistrate....In Alabama.....[;)]
They are also Peace Officers, and as such can contract to do work above & beyond their own duties (Moon Lighting). A lot of Police Officer's in Texas do this.
When I worked for the Harris County Sheriffs Department I worked all mid-shifts. Several times a week I would get off work and work security in uniform for a bank, parking details, construction security, and many more. The pay was a lot better then the department paid.
It sounds like this Constable had a side job with the Sharpstown subdivision to provide extra security for them. His contact expired, they didn't renew it, and they hired another source to fill in.
Trinity +++
It's been a few years since I worked as an LEO in Texas, but if memory serves me correctly a Constable in Texas is an elected official with their own jurisdiction.
They are also Peace Officers, and as such can contract to do work above & beyond their own duties (Moon Lighting). A lot of Police Officer's in Texas do this.
When I worked for the Harris County Sheriffs Department I worked all mid-shifts. Several times a week I would get off work and work security in uniform for a bank, parking details, construction security, and many more. The pay was a lot better then the department paid.
It sounds like this Constable had a side job with the Sharpstown subdivision to provide extra security for them. His contact expired, they didn't renew it, and they hired another source to fill in.
Trinity +++
Yep.
I compared employing constables or private security for my last business. The rates were very close, I'm surprised the community
saved money. My customer base was happier with the constables standing around who they knew. But, Smith County Pct. 1, Tyler, Texas is a little different animal on google.[;)]
How is it misleading? The community ended their contract with their constable and hired private security to patrol the neighborhoods such in turn made the crime rate drop 61% and saved almost a quarter million annually in doing so. Of course local PD's are still present and are still called for investigating crimes.
Maybe they should of said it was a 61% reduction in revenue generation for the local PD's?
Not misleading?
Texas Town Cuts Crime By 61%
After Firing Its Police
THERE IS NOT A TOWN called sharpstown. THE PHOTO IS OF A FOOTBALL GAME.
NO police were involved, Fired or hired.
Someone here said it was not a town, someone here said is was security or constables.
PLUS I live in Houston and am completely aware how this works. Most subdivisions have private security. 15 years ago it cost 60K per year for an 8 hour shift, 24 hour coverage, $120K per year.
Unless of course they refer to a Sharpstown in Mississippi.
Link to basic info on Constable contract program.
http://www.cd4.hctx.net/contract_patrol.php
Doubt Sharpstown could afford "private security patrols".
Well you're the one who said that the community still relys on the local gov.law enforcement for all their services. Seems not so in this case.
How so? It is not the function of Law Enforcement to provide security, that is why people hire security companies, to provide security. The community of Sharpstown still has to rely on the local LE for all the law Enforcement services that they previously received. As was pointed out by Trinity, apparently this community contracted out to the local Constable for additional "security services" above and beyond what they receive as taxpayers.
I changed the topic so as not to seem as misleading as the source doing the article.
Your first clue is how it states a specific percentage of crime reduced, but neglects to define what sort of crimes or the number of these they refer to. Are they talking about reported thefts, burglaries, assaults, robberies, etc. being reduced? Is it that this lowered figure simply reflects the absence of the minor violations those LEO's used to contact and check suspicious people wandering around their neighborhood - and serving outstanding arrest warrants on them?
Keep in mind that under Texas laws private security personnel have no authority to stop and contact people unless they're on private property. Due to this they'll undoubtedly be able to detect less crime while rolling around that neighborhood, which on paper becomes less crime occurring.
From the looks of it, some here are the type that car salesmen love to see walk on their lot. [:D]
I'd be curious to hear how much that security outfit paid for this so-called news article. What you're seeing here is actually a cheap charlie advertisement disguised to appear as a legit 'breaking news' media story.
Your first clue is how it states a specific percentage of crime reduced, but neglects to define what sort of crimes or the number of these they refer to. Are they talking about reported thefts, burglaries, assaults, robberies, etc. being reduced? Is it that this lowered figure simply reflects the absence of the minor violations those LEO's used to contact and check suspicious people wandering around their neighborhood - and serving outstanding arrest warrants on them?
Keep in mind that under Texas laws private security personnel have no authority to stop and contact people unless they're on private property. Due to this they'll undoubtedly be able to detect less crime while rolling around that neighborhood, which on paper becomes less crime occurring.
From the looks of it, some here are the type that car salesmen love to see walk on their lot. [:D]
Now that's bad!!!!!! [:D] Truly now, is there anyone on GB that doesn't kick a tire to death in their own little ways!!![:D][:D][:D]
quote:Originally posted by Txs
I'd be curious to hear how much that security outfit paid for this so-called news article. What you're seeing here is actually a cheap charlie advertisement disguised to appear as a legit 'breaking news' media story.
Your first clue is how it states a specific percentage of crime reduced, but neglects to define what sort of crimes or the number of these they refer to. Are they talking about reported thefts, burglaries, assaults, robberies, etc. being reduced? Is it that this lowered figure simply reflects the absence of the minor violations those LEO's used to contact and check suspicious people wandering around their neighborhood - and serving outstanding arrest warrants on them?
Keep in mind that under Texas laws private security personnel have no authority to stop and contact people unless they're on private property. Due to this they'll undoubtedly be able to detect less crime while rolling around that neighborhood, which on paper becomes less crime occurring.
From the looks of it, some here are the type that car salesmen love to see walk on their lot. [:D]
Now that's bad!!!!!! [:D] Truly now, is there anyone on GB that doesn't kick a tire to death in their own little ways!!![:D][:D][:D]
I believe Txs was referring to a "sucker born everyminute" aspect of this story. [;)]
After going back and re-reading the article and checking out the companies website you guys are correct, the article is misleading as Sharpstown is not a town and no police were actually fired. My apologies shilo for jumping the gun on this sir,I should have researched this before posting it. You are absolutely right on how media is out of touch with their reporting. Trinity,I think you nailed it with your explanation.
I changed the topic so as not to seem as misleading as the source doing the article.
No prob, just keep in mind that future deviations may result in issuance of a demerit. [;)]
Though I appreciate you altering the title it should be noted that the Constable's contract ended and wasn't renewed, and that the Constable and Police are two different government entities. The Constable is elected and serves the Justice of the Peace, while the Police are typically appointed and work for the local Government. ok ok I'll stop picking.
Talk about kicking a dead horse, and I do belive that does occur in Texas now & then as well as here on the GB forums...[^]
Trinity +++
I don't mind being kicked when I deserve it. My skins pretty thick[:D]
Hey, without your post the whole world would have been totally ignorant of the savings these people made in having their neighborhoods patrolled - provided the story is true...I think. [:D]
OMG! Another one!
BTW, it is pretty easy to reduce crime by reducing the numbers of crime REPORTS. Since the private outfit can't take crime reports or investigate crimes, or serve warrants, it stands to reason that the crime statistics (on paper) will fall.
The article could have been written by a former Chief of mine, J.D. McGee, an expert of manipulating the numbers and the way crimes are reported, in order to make himself look good.