Report on Visit of Deputy Chief of Police for Cathedral City
How does Outdoor Resort compare to other like-sized places within the Valley? The police don’t get called here as often. Having said that, Deputy Chief Walker reassured all present that they care about what is going on in the resort and will do their best to solve all thefts. I reported on-line and it took ten days to receive a case number. California laws states that any property over $950 is considered Grand Theft and a felony crime. Property under $950 is a misdemeanor. Every report is looked at and then prioritize. The goal is to get back within ten days for the misdemeanors. While they don’t forget them, with limited resources priority cases take precedence. Looking around the resort what do you see as things owners can do to reduce thefts? • If you see something, say something. Don’t feel security or police will judge. They want to know. • Light up your rig. • Buy motion detector lights. Make sure the front of your lot is well lit. • Take photos of all items that have serial numbers so if something you have stolen is sold to a pawn shop you may get it back. A retired police officer is hired to go to all the pawn shops in the valley and search out stolen items. • Some motion sensors have alarms that go off inside to alert you someone is around your property. • If you purchase a camera/video ensure the resolution is of high enough quality that it can be run through their facial recognition system. Grainy video can’t be used. • Buy bike locks that cannot easily be cut through. There are ones only locksmiths can remove. If you see something, say something. In other words, if you observe someone out of place or not sure they belong in the resort, please notify security. Often it turns out to be a guest or relative visiting a resident but it does not hurt to inquire if you are unsure. If I hear someone around my rig what should I do? Call 911 and ORPS Security. If a theft is being committed or someone is trespass sing on your property be the best witness possible. Note the height of person, color of clothing, any identifying features, writing on t-shirt etc. Be as specific as possible. If you hear someone prowling around make lots of noise and get on the phone and call security and the police. It is not recommended to confront the per- son. Deputy Chief Walker closed saying it is their goal to work with ORPS to stop the thefts. It can only be done with citizen engagement.
A Brief summary of the Jan 31 Town Hall Meeting: Deputy Chief of Police for Cathedral City, Travis Walker and his Crime Analyst, Courtney Dono visited ORPS. Deputy Chief Walker reassured us that he and his staff are taking our security issues seriously and looking at many ways to support us. Was it a transient problem? He met with the police officer who deals with the homeless activity within Cathedral City and also looked at our property. Deputy Chief Walker said, there was no obvious transient activity around the surrounding property. Could we do a better job of securing the perimeter? Yes, he and our GM are looking at ways to use natural bushes and growth to ‘fortify’ the outside walls. For example planting spiny plants that grow up the walls and trimming bushes where people can hide and the possibility of putting spikes like they use as pigeon deterrence on top of the wall. Could parolees from the area be coming into the resort? Every parolee, in the Corrections System, has a GPS attached to their leg and there were no pings that would tell them they had entered Outdoor Resorts. Was there a specific pattern to the thefts? None could be found. The only pattern was that most occurred between midnight and 5AM. Were any of the thefts considered an inside job ? They are reviewing all the factors. They won’t know until they look at all the factors. No, they cannot search vehicles. According to the law, not without ‘probable cause.’ There is significant liability if this were to occur. Do Cathedral City Police have a visual presence within our resort? The police are aware of issues now and will be doing drive-throughs when time permits. Why do the statistics you are sharing, with regard to how many incidents, differ from those we hear within the resort? The Police must have a written report, taken from the victim. They cannot take the report from Outdoor Resort Security . If the victim has not reported to Cathedral City Police, the incident did not happen. The more incidents that are reported to the Cathedral City Police, the more Outdoor Resort will be on their radar . How do we report something is stolen? First victims should call Outdoor Resort Security at 760-770-0065. We then need to report crimes so the police are aware. Our security cannot file a report to the police. To report Can Outdoor Resort’s security guards search vehicles leaving the resort?
7
Made with FlippingBook Annual report