Information to Know!

The Woodlands Community Policing Program:
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office provides law enforcement services to The Woodlands. Because the County does not provide the level of service residents of The Woodlands have requested, the Community Associations of The Woodlands contracts with the Sheriff’s Office to provide a pro-active Community Policing Program. Beginning in 2007, at a cost of about $2.4 million a year, the Associations fund 30 deputies, corporals, and sergeants who patrol The Woodlands, answer calls for service, and perform some follow-up investigations. Also included in the contract is the cost of fully-equipped patrol cars with “The Woodlands” marked above the front wheels, and bicycles so that the deputies can spend some time patrolling the parks and pathways outside of their cars. Sheriff’s Office District 2 deputies funded by Montgomery County also support The Woodlands.

The Woodlands patrol deputies are assigned to patrol zones, or beats, within The Woodlands. Sterling Ridge is in Zone 5, but Zone 5 consists of everything west of Kuykendahl, including Carlton Woods and parts of Indian Springs and Alden Bridge. A Community Policing Report is prepared each month, and that report lists all of the calls for service in The Woodlands, including those initiated by the deputies on patrol. The Community Policing reports can be viewed at
http://www.thewoodlandsassociations.org/site/welcome/default.aspx?page=217
I encourage you to review a few of these reports, and I particularly call your attention to pages 12 and 13 of each, as these pages summarize the crimes handled by both Woodlands contract and County funded deputies for each zone.

I have had the opportunity to get to know the sergeants and some of the deputies in our Community Policing program, and I am enrolled in the Sheriff’s Citizens Academy, which teaches civilians about the Department. I also went on a ride-along with one of our sergeants just a couple of weeks ago. The experience drove home for me the value of our program. I am very impressed with the professionalism of the Sheriff’s personnel and the level of enthusiasm for the Community Policing Program. Because of the increased number of deputies in The Woodlands, and because the deputies are assigned to The Woodlands, and to zones within The Woodlands, they are able to get familiar with the area and arrive at locations very soon after calls are received from residents, rather than running from one side of the district to the other.

The deputies and supervisors in The Woodlands Community Policing Program have a lot of knowledge about criminal activity in the area and are happy to share information with the residents to help prevent crime. To that end whenever possible a supervisor or deputy attends Village Association meetings to share information and answer questions from residents. The Sterling Ridge Village Association usually meets on the fourth Monday of each month at 7:00 PM, usually at the Mitchell Library on Ashlane Way. I encourage you to attend. My monthly e-mails detail the date, time, and location, and that information is also at www.sterling-ridge.org, and in The Woodlands Community Magazine. (There is no meeting in December.)

Shots Fired Behind Archwyck:
Below is the contents of a Woodlands Watch Network Message that was distributed to Watch coordinators in Sterling Ridge:

This message is to inform the residents of Sterling Ridge Village of the facts surrounding the Law Enforcement activity in their Village last night. The following information is from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office (M.C.S.O.).

On 10/29/07 at 2143 hrs (9:43 PM), M.C.S.O. deputies were dispatched to S. Archwyck in The Woodlands reference to a bullet that was fired into a home and lodged in the wall. The caller advised that the rifle slug came very close to striking a female caring for her infant in the home and there were still shots being fired in the woods adjacent to the neighborhood.

When units arrived on scene to establish a perimeter the shooting was still occurring and appeared to be coming from a high powered rifle south of the residence. The incident commander authorized calling out a helicopter and the M.C.S.O. SWAT Team to aid in the search. H.P.D. helicopter responded as well as a H.P.D. SWAT-K9 unit, and multiple M.C.S.O. deputies.

At about 0200 (2:00 AM) hours the on scene commander authorized a M.C.S.O. SWAT tracking team to be deployed into the woods in an attempt to locate the suspect(s). They tracked three suspects back to a deer hunting camp on a 33 acre deer lease. The three males were detained without incident. In plain view were several high powered hunting rifles and the males admitted to shooting the rifles at a target in the same direction of the home(s). The three individuals were all arrested and charged with Felony 3 Deadly Conduct.

According to an October 31, 2007 story in The Courier of Montgomery County, the third degree felony charges are punishable by 2 to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. One of our Sergeants explained to me that in Montgomery County it is legal to discharge a firearm on a tract of land of at least 10 acres, but only if precautions are taken to ensure that the bullet does not leave the property. In this case, the individuals doing the shooting obviously did not take such precautions.

Shopping Area at Woodlands Parkway and FM 2978:
Having seen some e-mails that have been circulating, I also asked the Sergeant about incidents occurring in the shopping area at Woodlands Parkway and FM 2978. He filled me in on the following incidents of which he was aware:

Around March of this year, there was a purse stolen in the parking lot, and soon after that, deputies went to talk to all of the employees of the store and explained what suspicious activity to look for and to call the Sheriff’s Office if they saw any suspicious activity.

There have been instances of panhandling, but the Sergeant said that the store manager attempts to run off panhandlers when they are reported. The Sergeant said that in one panhandling incident, a rumor circulated that the customer had been robbed, when in fact she had just been approached and asked for a handout.

There are occasionally shoplifters caught in the store.

About a month and a half ago, there was a fight in which two men were arguing with a third, and a fourth man got involved, striking the first two. No charges were filed, as only the fourth man (who was the first to strike anyone) remained on the scene.

Most Common Criminal Activity in the Area:
At the Sterling Ridge Village Association meeting in September, one of the Sheriff’s Corporals told us that the most common crime in the area is burglary of motor vehicles, meaning stealing things out of parked cars. Please do not leave expensive items in view in your car, and by all means, lock your car, and if possible, store it in your garage.