League City: A safer place to shop

[Beiruty]

100% of the time, unmanned. Do not ask me how do I know. Just ask your self, have you ever seen someone getting down to go to the bathroom?

[Barbi Q]

If it's unmanned, what's the advantage of this over cameras on the light poles in the parking lot? Other than giving money to the company that manufactures the phone booth on a stick, I mean.

[seamusTX]

I can think of a few reasons:

• It is much more visible and, I think, intimidating than stationary cameras.
• Criminals will not know whether or not it is manned.
• It can be moved to "hot spots." It could be used to monitor outdoor assemblies, if League City had any.

- Jim

[ELB]

I am less concerned about the "Stasi" vibe than I am the feeling that in the long run this will prove to be a bigger nuisance to the police/city than they find worthwhile and they will fire-sale the thing to some surplus dealer. (However, $60K purchase price is much less than I would have guessed). If they are going to staff if with civilian vollies, I am thinking that means the "Citizens Police Academy" (if League City PD has such a thing), which means staffed with geez.... er retired folks. Will make a great local TV breaking news report when one of the observers keels over and the Fire Department has to bring an aerial truck for rescue.

And if it is not staffed regularly (and I'll bet you can tell if it is manned - even in the pictures I can see through the windows) it will become a target for vandals and graffiti "artists," which will add to the nuisance factor.

If there is this much crime going on in box store parking lots, then, frankly, had I been mayor, I would have leaned a bit on WalMart or HEB or whoever and said, look, unless you step up observation and reporting of your own parking lots, you might some problems with your next city permit. A bit ugly, perhaps, but probably cheaper and more effective in the long run.

[seamusTX]

If they are going to staff if with civilian vollies, I am thinking that means the "Citizens Police Academy" (if League City PD has such a thing), which means staffed with geez.... er retired folks. Will make a great local TV breaking news report when one of the observers keels over and the Fire Department has to bring an aerial truck for rescue.

League City does have a citizens police academy. What town or county doesn't?

Any mechanism like that should have controls in the cabin and at the base. If not, the engineers who designed it are morons.

If there is this much crime going on in box store parking lots, then, frankly, had I been mayor, I would have leaned a bit on WalMart or HEB or whoever and said, look, unless you step up observation and reporting of your own parking lots, you might some problems with your next city permit. A bit ugly, perhaps, but probably cheaper and more effective in the long run.

This shopping center has been a huge revenue generator for the city. A few years ago the area was mostly cow pastures.

I don't know what discussions may or may not have taken place, but all of these malls already have private security. Maybe the city decided that it was in its interest to increase the perception that the police are "doing something."

As far as I know, none of the local malls are particularly crime-ridden or safe. If I absolutely had to go to a mall, I wouldn't pick one over another on that basis. I've been in this one several times with no trouble and no observation of potential trouble.

As usual, the victims are those who leave valuables in plain sight in their vehicles and the vulnerable and clueless who are bumbling around after dark.

- Jim

[cbr600]

Put a decent rifleman up there and you might get a meaningful reduction in crime.

[Oldgringo]

Well, that OP lurking on the horizon will certainly tell the thugs, robbers and other BG's where they ain't welcome and to just move on to another place.

(OP= Observation Post)

After studying the posts following the above, I must confess that oh, never mind...I'm sorry.

[RPB]

unmanned actually works. a while

I know police have left unmanned vehicles at certain spots with radar on everyone slowed down... worked great for a long time, then they started getting boxes of doughnuts on it, which was ok too, but then they moved it elsewhere.

True story.

[Oldgringo]

unmanned actually works. a while

I know police have left unmanned vehicles at certain spots with radar on everyone slowed down... worked great for a long time, then they started getting boxes of doughnuts on it, which was ok too, but then they moved it elsewhere.

True story.

The police in Lakeside, MT parked a cruiser with a blow-up dummy in it on the highway leading into town. There was only one highway passing through Lakeside, how many entrances are there to the League City Shopping CenterMall?

[Keith B]

unmanned actually works. a while

I know police have left unmanned vehicles at certain spots with radar on everyone slowed down... worked great for a long time, then they started getting boxes of doughnuts on it, which was ok too, but then they moved it elsewhere.

True story.

The police in Lakeside, MT parked a cruiser with a blow-up dummy in it on the highway leading into town. There was only one highway passing through Lakeside, how many entrances are there to the League City Shopping CenterMall?

Around 1980 the department I was a reserve officer with put a car with a mannequin in it in uniform on a drive next to the highway. This was a real common place to run radar, and we would periodically have a real officer in it really running radar (yeah, sneaky, I know. LOL)

One Saturday it was a really hot day and I happened to be working dispatch and the desk. I received a phone call from a lady that was very concerned about the officer in the car at that location. She had noticed the officer had been sitting there with the windows rolled up and the car off, so there was no air conditioning. In addition, the 'officer' was kinda slumped over against the window and didn't move while she was watching him. I thanked her for her concern and advised I would radio the officer to make sure he was OK.

About an hour later, she called back and stated he still hadn't moved. I assured her that he was fine. She really insisted that we send a car out to check on him. Finally, I told her that she needn't worry because it was actually a decoy car and the officer was just a mannequin. She started laughing and said, 'Well, I guess it's a good thing he WASN'T moving!' She then said she was embarrassed that she had called and been so dumb about it, but hadn't gotten close enough to tell that he wasn't real. I told her she shouldn't be embarrassed and that I thought she was a wonderful lady for being so concerned about an officer out there and appreciated her compassion and thoughtfulness.

Not long after that we decided it really wasn't a big benefit, so discontinued the program, but it did work for about 6 months at different locations.

[bnc]

As far as I know, none of the local malls are particularly crime-ridden or safe. If I absolutely had to go to a mall, I wouldn't pick one over another on that basis. I've been in this one several times with no trouble and no observation of potential trouble.

- Jim

Same here, it seems like a pretty decent area. And The Arms Room is just across the road in case trouble starts to brew.

Granted, that whole area is a traffic mess, so good luck getting across the road.

[OldCurlyWolf]

BERLIN WALL

Hmm.

- Jim

It is older than that by several hundred years.

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[OldCannon]

100% of the time, unmanned. Do not ask me how do I know. Just ask your self, have you ever seen someone getting down to go to the bathroom?

The Parks Mall in Arlington has these too. Also always unmanned.

Shhh. Don't tell.

[Abraham]

I am disinclined to shop at a mall where someone in authority thinks a guard tower of sorts is required. To me such a thing says: CRIMINALS frequent his mall in much higher numbers than others, shop elsewhere.

Until now, I shopped there quite frequently.

No longer...

[Excaliber]

100% of the time, unmanned. Do not ask me how do I know. Just ask your self, have you ever seen someone getting down to go to the bathroom?

The Parks Mall in Arlington has these too. Also always unmanned.

Shhh. Don't tell.

Urban scarecrows?

The fact is LE agencies can't afford to staff them on a regular basis any more than they could afford to assign a patrol unit to drive around the parking lot. The incidence and severity of crime in those locations doesn't justify tying up those resources to such a small geographic area.

They're great tools for events where there's a lot of dense population and unusual activity in a relatively small area and observation range from vehicles or foot patrols is very limited.

Part of the reason for planting them in parking lots likely has to do with justifying the cost of purchase with deployed time numbers.