And then we see Kingwood having a problem with crime, thanks to a decreased police presence in the community (via KHOU-11’s Dave Fehling):
Since annexation, its population has soared from around 40,000 to more than 60,000.
But with more people has come more crime.
“Property crime is on the increase in Kingwood,” Sullivan said.
Turns out some thieves also like the annexed Kingwood. They’ve been hitting some neighborhoods hard, stealing everything from laptops to lawnmowers. Is Kingwood becoming an easy target?
Houston police said some of the thieves they’ve recently caught are from Montgomery County, one from Tomball — outsiders hitting Kingwood possibly because they know patrols here aren’t what they used to be.
It’s down sometimes to just two HPD cars on the streets, according to Sullivan.
“It’s an impossible task so in comparison to what we had before; it’s not as good,’ Sullivan said.
But HPD is responding. An eight-officer tactical team is now assigned to the Kingwood substation.
Its commander said they’re targeting high crime neighborhoods, doing surveillance and other investigative work patrol officers would never have time for.
They said it’s already dramatically cut the number of car break-ins.
Still, officers said their numbers working Kingwood have dropped by one-third in recent years.
So despite the addition of the tactical team, “it doesn’t make us whole at all,” Sullivan said.
Not when the police presence was decreasing as the population was increasing. Bad guys can drive around and see there’s no police presence. It’s an invitation.
