Due to the increase of suspicious activity in our area in late August, our KCPD security patrol added a few extra shifts to offer more coverage.
The security patrol has also begun a month-long traffic enforcement effort several times a week at different locations where we have complaints. During the first day, the officer stopped seven cars and issued 10 tickets and one warning.
Also during August, a KCPD security patrol officer observed the back door ajar on a house where the resident had requested our vacation house watch service. Two officers checked the house to make sure everything was normal. Upon being contacted afterwards by the security patrol, here’s what the homeowner had to say:
“Thank you! The alarm company called me because the alarm went off when the door was opened. After the door was closed, I remotely locked it and re-secured the alarm system. I appreciate the heads up!”
Guest post by WPHA resident Jim Anderson
The picture above from our Ring camera shows the police checking on our house while we were out of town. I always request the Ward Parkway Homes Association’s vacation house watch service every time we are gone more than just a couple days.
You can get access to this protection by becoming a member of our homes association and supporting the KCPD security patrol service. It is a wonderful thing to know your home is being watched by the “good guys.”
When I am home working in my office, I frequently look out the window and see marked or unmarked police cruisers going down our street. Our neighborhood takes security seriously enough to pay for off-duty officers to spend hours each week patroling our streets to watch for patterns and deter property crimes. A regular police presence sends would-be criminals elsewhere to prey on easier targets. I love seeing officers in our neighborhood. And I value the benefit of having them monitor my home for suspicious activity when I’m away.
The concern I have is that there are not enough paying neighbors to continue our security patrol service. I would hate for the WPHA to lose out to other neighborhoods who are on the waiting list for a security patrol service. Please review the information consider joining. Our KCPD security patrol is covered through the end of the year and can continue if we get enough paying members.
If you are a already a WPHA member, thank you so much. If you are a member but have not not opted to support the security patrol in the past, please join me and others in helping to keep our homes safe and protected.
The WPHA’s security patrol service ensures that we have a regular police presence than the understaffed Kansas City Police Department can otherwise provide in such a large city. This service, when combined with personal security cameras and watchful neighbors, helps keep property crimes in our neighborhood among the lowest in the city. And that’s the way we want to keep it!
The WPHA seeks volunteers to help with upcoming events and committee activities. Can you offer some of your time or talent? (This is a great opportunity for high-school-aged neighbors to earn community service hours.)
Volunteers needed to help assemble and deliver donation bags with instructions to each house in the neighborhood during the weekend of June 1. Volunteers also needed to collect and sort food donations and deliver them to Harvesters on Saturday, June 8.
This lunchtime event takes place on Thursday, July 4. We need 10 volunteers. No prior volunteer experience is needed. Volunteers should be able to lift 10 pounds, stand for 60-minute intervals, and present a positive energy. Volunteers will be asked to come to the event 1 hour before it starts, work periodically during the picnic, and stay about 1 hour after it ends. Volunteers will be able to eat during the picnic. High school students are encouraged to volunteer.
Volunteers needed for WPHA’s Spring Membership Drive, Thirsty Thursdays, and Fall Neighborhood Night Out. No prior volunteer experience is needed. Volunteers should be able to walk the neighborhood for 30–60-minute intervals, stand for 60 minute intervals, and present a positive energy. High school students are encouraged to volunteer for Membership Drive. Volunteers must be 21 years of age or older for Thirsty Thursday and Neighborhood Night Out.
Volunteers needed to join the committee as regular members. No prior volunteer experience is needed. Committee volunteers may be asked to communicate with local law enforcement agencies and/or local city officials and represent the WPHA at other crime/safety groups. Committee volunteers may be asked to summarize reports and work with basic computer programs.
Contact the WPHA to raise your hand. We’ll reply to your email within 72 business hours. Please identify the opportunity for which you would like to volunteer.
It’s so convenient to buy goods online and have them delivered to our homes. The downside is that it’s also easy for thieves to make off with those unattended packages. Here are some tried and true methods — plus some new ones — you may want to consider to keep your packages out of the hands of porch pirates.
More secure package delivery options are being developed all the time. Please share with us what has worked well for you.
Guest post by WPHA resident Linetta Thurman
Like many of you in the WPHA, we lost power in January following a major winter storm. It wasn’t long before several neighbors across the street who still had power offered us coffee to warm up, their Wi-Fi and TV to catch up, and their couches to rest up — even for the night! Within minutes of our power coming on, those same neighbors notified the residents on our block of the good news so those who were away could return home. Your care and generosity was appreciated. I love this neighborhood!
Neighbors were not the only ones looking out for us during the snow storm. Our neighborhood security patrol (of retired and off-duty KCPD officers) knew about power outages in the area, and they patrolled our streets more frequently and reassigned shifts so that those of us without power wouldn’t become victims of crime. This is just one more reason why I support and fund our neighborhood security patrol. I encourage you to do the same.
Guest post by WPHA resident B. Michael McFarland
B. Michael McFarland
When we moved into the neighborhood, we joined the Ward Parkway Homes Association (WPHA) but did not subscribe to the security patrol service because we didn’t understand what it was for. We never seemed to see the patrol.
Then two things happened.
First: a neighbor got a dog and started walking that dog at night, after 10 p.m., and reported seeing patrol several times at night. We weren’t seeing patrol because we are not outside walking the neighborhood after 10 p.m., but my neighbor said he felt much safer seeing those patrols.
Second: We attended one of the monthly WPHA Board of Directors meetings. A sergeant from the Kansas City Police Department attended to deliver a report, and I learned that no resident that paid for the security patrol and requested a vacation house check this year has had their home broken into while they were away. Not only that, but a crime report the sergeant brought showed that the WPHA is actually one of the safest neighborhoods in the area. We learned how often the security patrol happens, and that it is deliberately scheduled at various times throughout the day and night based on what’s happening in the area.
It used to be that the WPHA security patrol officers often traveled in unmarked cars to be less conspicuous. Under the new sergeant’s watch, all the off-duty officers use marked KCPD vehicles and have a more visible presence.
Now we know why felt like we never seemed to see patrol officers in the neighborhood. They were unmarked. They patrolled at constantly changing times of day. And they were frequently present while we were inside instead of outside our house.
The WPHA’s security patrol service costs $60 a year. That breaks down to $5 per month. I spend more than that on one drink at Starbucks.
I encourage any of you who don’t participate in security patrol to do so. For the price of one Frappuccino a month, you can have greater peace of mind that your property will be safe when you leave town. And the security patrol’s property crime deterrence has a positive impact on the whole neighborhood.
According to the Kansas City Police Department, thefts from autos are on the rise in the area. We all know that auto burglaries are crimes of opportunity. They are typically committed when the perpetrator sees that he/she has the chance to commit the act at that moment and seizes it.
KCPD Community Interaction Officer Mikki Cassidy recently shared the following tips on Nextdoor about how to reduce your chances of becoming a victim.
This holiday season, don’t let the spirit of giving lull you into giving burglars and thieves a better chance to do their dirty work. Here are some ways to protect your home and keep it secure during the holidays.
Sources:
Winter Holiday Safety Tips (Metropolitan Police Department)
Security for the Holidays: Keeping Your Home Safe from Christmas Burglars (SafeWise.com)
Heading out of town for the weekend — or longer? Ward Parkway Homes Association members who have paid for the optional private security patrol service during the current fiscal year can rest easy. You have access to a valuable vacation security service benefit. Our patrol service will check on your home while you’re gone and notify you if they observe any suspicious activity.
The Ward Parkway Homes Association’s security patrol service costs $60 per year per house. It pays for off-duty Kansas City police officers to patrol streets during the week, which helps our entire neighborhood maintain some of the lowest crime rates in the city. Plus, it provides peace of mind that someone is looking out for your property in your absence.
To request a vacation security service for an upcoming trip, fill out the online form and submit it. Remember to request the vacation patrol service at least 72 hours before leaving town so we have time to check the neighborhood roster and notify the security team.
Happy traveling!
Theft is a crime of opportunity. During the summer months, would-be thieves are on the lookout for items that can be easily taken in moments. Unlocked doors, open windows and open garage doors all provide a temptation to steal valuables — bikes, tools, packages, cell phones, purses — left in plain view. Blooming trees and overgrown shrubs can provide would-be burglars with places to hide.
Tips are courtesy of the San Leandro Police Department, San Leandro, California.