Photo by Jennifer Reynolds
|
|
Cpl. Felix Flores, a member of the Texas City Police Department’s Field Investigative Team, arrests a man charged with driving with a suspended license.
|
Authorities step up community policing efforts
By T.J. Aulds
The Daily News
Published October 13, 2009
TEXAS CITY — A task force aimed at curbing street-level crime is making neighborhoods safer, Texas City Police Chief Robert Burby said.
Since the Field Investigative Team was created two months ago, officers have made 79 arrests, mostly for drug-related crimes and driving violations.
“It’s a patrol shift on steroids,” Burby said. “We look at the crime trends that are happening now and move on that.”
Burby said the effort is a form of community policing.
“That’s an ambiguous term, which can be defined in many different ways,” he said. “We believe in getting out there and introducing ourselves to the public.”
That effort includes opening a police substation in West Texas City, which eventually will be staffed around the clock in a part of town that has seen crime spike in the past three years.
Officers don’t just introduce themselves to the residents. They engage in a robust — and some complain controversial — tactic of randomly stopping people.
“We see a guy who we know is usually up to no good and he is on the west side but normally works the east side,” Burby said. “We ask, what’s he doing over here?”
Officers will stop the man, ask for his identification and talk to him while police dispatchers check to see whether there are warrants for his arrest. In some cases, officers will pat the person down “as a matter of police safety,” Burby said.
The practice is called stop and frisk and is a common police practice in large cities. It is legal, thanks to a 1968 Supreme Court decision that established the bench mark of “reasonable suspicion” — a standard that is lower than the “probable cause” needed to justify an arrest.
The practice has plenty of critics, but law enforcement officials such as Burby swear by its effectiveness.
“If you are out in public and you haven’t done anything wrong, we can’t stop you from going about your business,” Burby, who calls the stops consensual, said. “If you say (to an officer) I don’t have time to talk to you right now and go on, there’s nothing we can do about that. No one’s rights are being violated.”
David Harris, a law professor at the University of Pittsburgh and an expert on street stops, told The Associated Press that few searches yield weapons or drugs. And the more people are searched, the more innocent people are hassled, he said.
“The hit rate goes down because you’re being less selective about how you’re doing this,” Harris said. “That has a cost. It’s not free.”
Neighborhood Support
City Commissioner Donald Singleton, whose district includes West Texas City, said he has been stopped by members of the team.
“I have encouraged the chief to pick it up,” Singleton said. “I’ve been pulled over, but I was driving a car that you wouldn’t expect a commissioner to be in. I call it a hooptie car. I haven’t had any negative feedback except from people who have been arrested.”
West Texas City resident Billy Joyce Braszile, 82, is among the supporters of the extra police presence.
“I enjoy knowing somebody is going to be checking on my neighborhood,” she said.
Burby said the recent arrest of a man suspected of stealing copper from the air-conditioning units at the convention center in Texas City was because of the team’s efforts. The team also helped La Marque police arrest a man in Houston wanted for a home invasion.
Burby said the team will move from one neighborhood to another and work different shifts depending on what the latest crime statistics show are trouble spots.
“It’s not a new concept,” Burby said. “It’s not rocket science or NASA research. It’s good, old-fashion police work.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
+++
Team Statistics
• Number of stops begun by officers: 69*
• Warrants: 18
• Suspicious person or car: 12
• Traffic stop: 12
• Number of arrests: 79
• Drug charges: 21
• Driving violations: 18
• No driver’s license: 16
* Stops that do not include a call for service to the police department
SOURCE: Texas City Police Department
+++
At A Glance
WHAT: West Texas City police substation opening
WHEN: 6 p.m. today
WHERE: 6901 Park Ave.
+++
At A Glance
Police calls to West Texas City in an average month:
2007: 988
2008: 1,091
2009: 1,052
SOURCE: Texas City Police Department
Share |
Save |
Mail |
Print |
Letter |
18
Comments
|
|
|
