To Texas State Representatives Trey Martinez Fischer and Roland Gutierrez

Eldridge Boyce                                                                          

Professor Denise Tolan                                                          

English 1302-211                                                                    

04 March 2016

To Texas State Representatives Trey Martinez Fischer and Roland Gutierrez:

I have been a resident of Bexar County for over 25 years now and I am amazed at the amount of crime that I see on the local news that takes place in the city of San Antonio. This city has a much higher violent crime rate than does most of the rest of the state along with almost double the property crime rate. According to neighborhoodscout.com “when … compared it (San Antonio) to communities of similar population size, its crime rate per thousand residents stands out as higher than most.” I think that it is imperative that more action is taken to improve the quality of life for the residents of San Antonio. Because the majority of these violent and property crimes take place on the south, east, and north central sides of San Antonio, I propose that neighborhood watch programs are formed in these communities or improved in communities that already have one. Communities that already have neighborhood watch programs in place need to do more such as recruit more citizens or get more help from local law enforcement. The goal is to bring residents together to make neighborhoods safer and discourage individuals from committing crimes. Those that choose to break the law will have a higher likelihood of being identified, captured, and convicted. Taking these criminals off of the streets will lead to more child-friendly, prosperous, and overall happier communities.

According to the Neighborhood Scout website, San Antonio has a higher crime rate than 96% of all U.S. cities and the chances of becoming a victim are 1 in 186. “Within Texas, more than 97% of the communities have a lower crime rate than San Antonio.” Much needed steps toward a safer environment need to be taken in the neighborhoods that have the most criminal activity first. These areas include north central, east and south sides of San Antonio. If criminal acts in these high concentration of crime locations can be reduced, then the overall rate in the city would improve significantly.

San Antonio is one of the fastest growing cities in the United States which means that people are moving here, possibly with their families, to take advantage of everything this city has to offer. Often times they end up moving into an area of high crime without realizing it and become targets to those that choose to commit crimes. Once a family or family member has been victimized in their own neighborhood, it becomes harder for them to trust those around them leading to more of a divide between members of the community.

Neighborhood watch programs in San Antonio have a variety of steps citizens can take to help safeguard against particular crimes. An example of a program that is encouraged for citizens to take part in is HEAT or “Help End Auto Theft.” Registering for this program will give permission to law enforcement to pull over any registered car between the hours of 1 am and 5 am to make sure that the car has not been stolen. There is also National Night Out which is an annual event that is held on the first Tuesday of October each year. The actual event is called “A Night Out Against Crime” and it consists of information about crime prevention and law enforcement. It also has a meet and greet with local law enforcement and first responders along with some family activities to take part in.

“According to the National Neighborhood Watch Program, burglaries nationwide decreased more than 30 percent throughout the 1990s, thanks to communities taking a more active role in stopping crime before it starts.” (Lent). People want their neighborhoods to be peaceful and crime-free, and if there is anything that can be done to assist in making that happen, it should be considered. I would personally attend a meeting with my city officials and express how much safety is a concern of mine and it should be for everyone involved. I would propose a higher frequency of night patrols in the most criminally active areas I previously mentioned and push for more streetlights in parts of these neighborhood that really need it.  Neighborhood watch programs can easily be formed with help from outside sources and local law enforcement. I would contact members of a community using email, local papers or magazines, flyers, and social media and include statistics about crime in their particular area and things they can do to lessen their chances of becoming a victims such as becoming a part of programs like the ones I mentioned. Forming a small committee of people that want changes to their community, discuss possible improvements, or just want to stay informed with how their neighborhood is changing will get the ball rolling. Along with contacting local law enforcement to set up a meeting to get familiarized with some of the legal procedures of a neighborhood watch is also a good start. Once the citizens are lead in the right direction, it would be a good time for them to elect someone who will best fit the role of neighborhood watch leader.