This past Thursday evening, some of La Quinta’s finest
hosted a seminar on crime prevention. In fact, we were informed that we not
only have a Crime Prevention Team but they are strictly charged with this area
of concern unless a special situation should arise requiring their assistance
in a backup roll. This is a nice change from tougher times in the past where
this manpower was not available for the specified area of concern.
This team is comprised of Officer Aceves and Munoz who head
up the Team which includes Special Enforcement Officers Ramirez and Martinez
(Cove) plus Officer Lindewall (No.LQ) and Officer Worden (Central LQ).
Officer Aceves opened the meeting by sharing some videos
followed by the Special Enforcement Officers sharing some great tips for
keeping ourselves, our property and that of our neighbors as safe as possible.
The Officers also answered specific questions for some residents in attendance;
in addition, a number of residents shared some good thoughts of their own
.
Besides the City’s presence on NextDoor, we learned that the
Department has a Facebook Account: https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=la%20quinta%20ca%20police%20department
; and they have a great web page to obtain information, report suspicious
activity and/or crimes: http://www.laquintapolice.org/Crime-Prevention
From this page that teems with information, you can reach other pages so spend
a few minutes one day and familiarize yourself. In addition, take a moment to
make a note of the Non-emergency number. Obviously, you are able to determine
what an emergency is for calling 911 but reporting a suspicious character or
situation should be done via the non-emergency number. Office Aceves also
pointed out that we can check crime reported in the recent but not immediate
past by the following web page: https://www.crimereports.com/
A real tangible item of importance that comes to memory is
the importance of writing down facts or taking photos, when possible, prior to
calling in or texting about the suspicious activity to give the officers some
help in performing their duties such as: what you saw, how many people you saw, what
were they wearing; what were they carrying; what direction did they go in; were
there any cars involved, how many cars, what color/make/model and , of course, anything else you can
remember …
It is apparent that this team is working diligently to
protect us and our property. We can assist them and help ourselves by being
aware, especially in the absence of a true Neighborhood Watch which are
difficult to start and maintain in our areas where more snowbirds and second
homeowners reside. Many people are just too busy to get involved … the answer
is let NextDoor be your Neighborhood Watch and contribute by: letting you
neighbor know they left the garage door open, checking out what the dog is
barking at (they don’t bark just to bark), checking out that strange car parked
outside, checking out the stranger walking the neighborhood after being dropped
off …
Take a moment and be thankful for the Special Enforcement
Team that advised us to be diligent, keep our eyes open and don’t be afraid to
call the non-emergency number 760-836-3215 Ext #5 or go online to report the
aforementioned areas of concern along with all other oddities that may arise. Finally,
remember that the Team offered to set an appointment to check your home’s safety
features and discuss/recommend alterations to make you more safe. You can call
Office Munoz direct at (760) 863-8990.
Be safe in the New Year !!!
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