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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 02 - Police Community Outreach CenterITEM • 2 - MEMO TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: BRUNO RUMBELOW, ACTING CITY MANAGER -39 MEETING DATE: DECEMBER 6, 2005 SUBJECT: POLICE COMMUNITY OUTREACH CENTER PRESENTATION: Police Chief Eddie Salame will make a presentation with regard to the proposal to establish a Police Community Outreach Center in the 3000 Block of Mustang Drive. Please see the enclosed black "Community Outreach Center" folder that details the proposal. Please note that this Outreach Center is to be manned with existing personnel and located in an area of the community that would substantially benefit from increased contact and greater visibility with the Police Department. The Outreach Center is an important extension of the department's community policing effort and will result in more effectively dealing with crime problems in the Mustang Road area. Once you have been briefed on the plan by Chief Salame, the Police Department could have the Outreach Center operating in January. 4 ■ [q wN, w � I ■ F� • GRAPEVINE POLICE Staff has identified a need and proposes that a Police Department Community Outreach Center be opened on Mustang Drive. The area between the 2500 and 3200 blocks of Mustang Drive is densely populated consisting of more than one thousand apartment and mobile home units. This area has an above average crime rate in comparison to other neighborhoods within the City. Community Outreach Centers have been established in other cities and have proven to be successful in establishing trust and long-lasting relationships within predominantly minority neighborhoods similar to the predominant Hispanic population in that area. Regional Place Apartments has offered a vacant apartment fronting Mustang Drive for use as a Community Outreach Center at no cost to the City. The apartment offers excellent visibility and can be easily converted for the intended purpose. The outreach center would be staffed five days a week, four of those days by existing Community Relations personnel and the fifth day by a patrol officer. The proposed office hours are 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday. Existing Community Relations Officers could each work one day per week from the outreach center, performing their normal office duties from the center. The Community Relations Officer's office telephone would be forwarded to the center for the day so that normal business could be conducted without interruption. A large Police Department sign would be placed on the front patio fence and a storm door would be placed on the entrance doorway to enable the solid door to be left open while an officer is present. The outreach center would be available to patrol officers and detectives to use for interviews, breaks, reporting writing, bicycle storage, or any other work related need. Officers would be encouraged to regularly use the outreach center to increase police visibility in the area. The primary goal of officers working from the center would be to increase the pleasant, non -enforcement contacts with the residents in the Mustang Drive area resulting in a true outreach. Programs and information would be gathered and shared with the residents to ease their entry into life in Grapevine and/or the United States. Many of the existing crime prevention programs, (engraving valuables, vin etching, child safety seat installation, etc) would be offered to the residents, at times, on a one-on-one basis. The Hispanic employees of the City and police department would be encouraged to use the center for any volunteer programs they might wish to initiate. A side benefit of the office may well be lowered response times within Districts 1, 2 & 3 due to the central location in that area of the city. LVA Emni The Grapevine Police Department responded to 1360 calls for service in the vicinity of the 2500 block to the 3 100 block of Mustang between January 1, 2005 to November 18, 2005 to approximately 2:00 A.M. This is the area between Trailwood MHP and Wheel Estate MHP, which encompasses the following apartment complexes, Regional Place, Courtyards at Mustang, Ridgecrest, Lakes of Williamsberg, and Village on the Creek. y. _ t _ s .caw,�s y f y���` s � e+ •,hra : S. " � r .t;.w e e t hz+ as 3+# J Ht2 — - — — -- a a. : ��, �✓� � 'i.. �.-b� e I c'�- } 1 s' wra v r.n„ ?"� .� y y ` `-:1 •. I' a • .��+-- eL9 t�: a, >' �,� � i-r ,� _� a��Y_ E .'®"' '�., i. '*fir x.� Ilk'!# 9 'sb.. Ire '4 t [_ v a S• IINA r*v POLICE i [Lob - CRIME PREVEN CIE CENTER � ----------^ -------------- 41. '.Apartments / Mobile'Home Parks # of Units %;S apish Speaking, Onl Regional Place 218 80% Courtyard 228 80% Ridgecrest 50 90% Lakes of Williamsberg 224 30% Village on the Creek .90 Less I% Timberline Condos 48 Less 1% Wheel Estates MHP 110 10% Trailwood MHP 251 34% TOTALS **1,219 Note: "Does not reflect the number of residents