Kingwood Observer - News
Post-hurricane crime spikes as agencies deal with heavy call volume
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| Humble PD Officer D. Meyers directs traffic at the Humble Civic Center where a long line of motorists stood in line to receive ice, food and water during the days after Ike. As tempers flared and patience grew thin, police responded to a high volume of disturbance calls in gas and POD lines. |
By STEFANIE THOMAS
It was a busy week for law enforcement the week after Hurricane Ike hit the Greater Houston area with local police officers working 12-hour shifts for two weeks following the storm. In addition to regulating traffic and helping clear debris from roadways, they had to deal with looters crawling out of the woodwork.
“It was an opportune time for all those people who like to steal and break into houses to go about and do their crime, knowing that residents are out of town,” said Humble Police Department Lt. J. Wrobliske. “They’d see the yard is not picked up and after two or three days there is still debris everywhere, it’s pretty obvious nobody is home. It’s unfortunate that some people took advantage of the situation.”
Despite the department’s efforts to patrol neighborhoods and keep looting in check, statistics show that Humble Police officers answered a total of 19 burglary calls between Sept. 12 and Sept. 18, compared to 11 the week before Ike made landfall.
Break-ins to homes and businesses especially were on the rise. In one instance, a welding machine was taken from a shed, Wrobliske said; in another, gas cans were taken from a garage. Several other reports show forced entry through back doors.
Burglaries of motor vehicles, on the other hand, decreased by nearly half, statistics show. Likewise, reports of shoplifting and theft also declined significantly the week after Ike. Wrobliske and Humble PD Patrol Lt. Q. Sammon agreed that this was probably due to the fact that Deerbrook Mall and most other retailers were closed for several days following the storm.
Precinct 4 Constable’s officials said that after Ike touched down, the department responded to a high number of suspicious persons calls in Atascocita and Spring.
“We have had many calls of good neighbors reporting suspicious persons and vehicles, indicating possible persons casing homes to possibly take generators,” said Precinct 4 Constable’s Lt. D.F. Escobar. “Many generators were usually left outside garages and were unattended during the nighttime.”
Sammon said that Humble PD statistics also show a higher than usual number of suspicious persons/vehicle incidents, but noted that most of those calls were self-initiated by the officers.
“We implemented the curfew in Humble and anybody walking around was checked out to see what they were doing,” Sammon said.
Humble and Houston police departments as well as Precinct 4 Constables reported that more than anything, they noted an increase in disturbances, both physical and verbal, as a result of rising tempers at the gas pumps and the stress of living without power in sweltering heat.
“We experienced a spike in family disturbances immediately after Ike,” Escobar said. “Many families had never experienced being cooped up in their homes for many hours during the day, many without electricity. Unfortunately, many of these disturbances also included the introduction of alcoholic beverages, which made things worse.”
Nevertheless, most police agencies felt that overall, the public behaved in a cooperative and law-abiding manner after Ike.
HPD Kingwood Division Sgt. R. Pearson said that preliminary statistics show no significant increase in serious criminal activity.
Escobar noted that although Precinct 4 Constable’s Office dispatchers dealt with a heavy call load in Spring during and after the storm, Atascocita and Humble remained relatively quiet.
Humble PD officials agreed that except for isolated incidents, residents cooperated with police.
“Without power, without gasoline, it caused people to become more agitated than normal,” Sammon said, “and I can understand that.”
Humble Crime Stats, pre- and post-Ike
The following Humble PD statistics compare call volume by type of incident for the weeks of Sept. 5-11 and Sept. 12-18.
Criminal mischief: 1/6
Fraud: 2/4
Public intoxication: 2/4
Shoplifter: 13/5
Suspicious person: 11/73
Suspicious vehicle: 13/36
Theft: 21/9
Traffic stops: 231/110
Animal complaints: 2/5
Traffic hazard: 1/26
Alarms: 34/106
Burglary of a business: 1/5
Burglary of a motor vehicle: 9/5
Burglary other: 1/3
Burglary of a residence: 0/6
Loud noise disturbance: 5/14
Physical disturbances: 2/4
Verbal disturbances: 16/58
“It was an opportune time for all those people who like to steal and break into houses to go about and do their crime, knowing that residents are out of town,” said Humble Police Department Lt. J. Wrobliske. “They’d see the yard is not picked up and after two or three days there is still debris everywhere, it’s pretty obvious nobody is home. It’s unfortunate that some people took advantage of the situation.”
Despite the department’s efforts to patrol neighborhoods and keep looting in check, statistics show that Humble Police officers answered a total of 19 burglary calls between Sept. 12 and Sept. 18, compared to 11 the week before Ike made landfall.
Break-ins to homes and businesses especially were on the rise. In one instance, a welding machine was taken from a shed, Wrobliske said; in another, gas cans were taken from a garage. Several other reports show forced entry through back doors.
Burglaries of motor vehicles, on the other hand, decreased by nearly half, statistics show. Likewise, reports of shoplifting and theft also declined significantly the week after Ike. Wrobliske and Humble PD Patrol Lt. Q. Sammon agreed that this was probably due to the fact that Deerbrook Mall and most other retailers were closed for several days following the storm.
Precinct 4 Constable’s officials said that after Ike touched down, the department responded to a high number of suspicious persons calls in Atascocita and Spring.
“We have had many calls of good neighbors reporting suspicious persons and vehicles, indicating possible persons casing homes to possibly take generators,” said Precinct 4 Constable’s Lt. D.F. Escobar. “Many generators were usually left outside garages and were unattended during the nighttime.”
Sammon said that Humble PD statistics also show a higher than usual number of suspicious persons/vehicle incidents, but noted that most of those calls were self-initiated by the officers.
“We implemented the curfew in Humble and anybody walking around was checked out to see what they were doing,” Sammon said.
Humble and Houston police departments as well as Precinct 4 Constables reported that more than anything, they noted an increase in disturbances, both physical and verbal, as a result of rising tempers at the gas pumps and the stress of living without power in sweltering heat.
“We experienced a spike in family disturbances immediately after Ike,” Escobar said. “Many families had never experienced being cooped up in their homes for many hours during the day, many without electricity. Unfortunately, many of these disturbances also included the introduction of alcoholic beverages, which made things worse.”
Nevertheless, most police agencies felt that overall, the public behaved in a cooperative and law-abiding manner after Ike.
HPD Kingwood Division Sgt. R. Pearson said that preliminary statistics show no significant increase in serious criminal activity.
Escobar noted that although Precinct 4 Constable’s Office dispatchers dealt with a heavy call load in Spring during and after the storm, Atascocita and Humble remained relatively quiet.
Humble PD officials agreed that except for isolated incidents, residents cooperated with police.
“Without power, without gasoline, it caused people to become more agitated than normal,” Sammon said, “and I can understand that.”
Humble Crime Stats, pre- and post-Ike
The following Humble PD statistics compare call volume by type of incident for the weeks of Sept. 5-11 and Sept. 12-18.
Criminal mischief: 1/6
Fraud: 2/4
Public intoxication: 2/4
Shoplifter: 13/5
Suspicious person: 11/73
Suspicious vehicle: 13/36
Theft: 21/9
Traffic stops: 231/110
Animal complaints: 2/5
Traffic hazard: 1/26
Alarms: 34/106
Burglary of a business: 1/5
Burglary of a motor vehicle: 9/5
Burglary other: 1/3
Burglary of a residence: 0/6
Loud noise disturbance: 5/14
Physical disturbances: 2/4
Verbal disturbances: 16/58
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