City of Wichita - Patrol East 39 Beat

Officer Matthew Lowe
Community Policing
Beat Coordinator
Email me here

Last Updated for: October, 2009 39 BEAT NEWS

Published by Officer M. L. Lowe
Patrol East Community Policing
350 S. Edgemoor, Wichita KS 67218
Work: 350-3420
E-mail: mlowe@wichita.gov

ATTENTION 39 BEAT!
In the last several weeks neighborhoods have reported being contacted by a female at very early morning hours soliciting money. She uses the ruse of needing gas money to get her and her kids home. This is a scam. Not only is the soliciting a crime, the welfare of the children needs to be checked. Here is what we know so far:

White Female
Average Build
Dark Hair (ponytail)
White Car or Dark SUV
Two - Three Children (they stay in the vehicle)

If you encounter this woman at your home:
1. Do not give her money
2. Call 911
3. Provide a good description of the woman to the 911 Operator
A good rule of thumb is to work from the head and go down. Hair color, facial descriptors, clothing, height, weight, build.
4. Provide the best description of the vehicle to the 911 Operator
If you don't know the make, provide the color and anything that stands out on the vehicle. Do all the lights work? Is there a decal in the window? Are the windows tinted? Anything officers can use to pick out the right vehicle out of many is helpful.

Currently there have been no reports of her being violent. However, at any time her method of operation could change depending on how desperate she becomes. Consider that she could be gathering information about when you are home / not at home to set up a burglary or possibly a home invasion.
Remember - This person is coming to your home to do this! We are not dealing with a typical beggar you may encounter downtown. Please help us identify her, get her stopped, and make sure these kids are in a healthy environment.

HALLOWEEN IN THE PARK 2009

You are invited to Halloween in the Park

Come and Trick or Treat
Wichita Police Officers
in your costumes
and learn about Halloween Safety

At Cypress Park located
on the North side of
Patrol East sub-station
at 350 S. Edgemoor

Friday, October 30th, 2009
6 P.M. till 9 P.M.

This is to teach younger children how to be
safe on Halloween Night!

(if it should rain arrangements have been made to move inside the sub-station)

Welcome to Your 39 Beat Webpage
Welcome to your 39 Beat Webpage. The information below will provide you with the Crime Trends on 39 Beat, prevention methods, and a host of resources provided by the City. Need more information on the website? Let me know: MLOWE@WICHITA.GOV

39 Beat Crime Trends
OPEN GARAGE DOOR BURGLARIES
Most burglaries on 39 Beat involves an open garage door or an unlocked exterior door. Those burglaries were preventable. Please lock all doors and windows and keep garage doors closed.
Here are some additional prevention tips:

Keep lights on at night
Lock all doors and windows
Use alarms if you have them
Communicate with your neighbors
Call 911 if things seem out of place or if a crime is occurring
Always close garage doors, even if you are home for a brief moment
Never leave your garage door opener inside vehicles you park outside
Do not let strangers into your home, they may be scouting your valuables or watching for weaknesses in your home's defense

TOP 3 ITEMS STOLEN IN BURGLARIES
Flat Screen TV's
Game Systems
Laptops

You are our eyes and ears. You can make a huge difference in a Safe and Secure Community. It starts in your homes ad neighborhoods. Stay security conscience! Maintain multi-layers of security for your family and your home to reduce the chance of becoming a victim.

THEFT FROM VEHICLES
This is a crime of opportunity, and in most cases the victim is providing the opportunity. Thieves are watching! This type of crime takes literally seconds to commit. Let's not give these them the opportunity. Not leaving valuables in your vehicle can make a huge impact in preventing this crime.
Test yourself, do you have any of these top stolen items in your car right now?

Purse
GPS Unit
Wallet
IPOD
Laptop
Cell Phone
GARAGE DOOR OPENERS!

Leaving these items in your car will increase your chances of being a victim. Other things to do to reduce your chances of being a victim are to park in well lit areas at night if possible, lock your doors, roll up all your windows, and be aware of surroundings.

IDENTITY THEFT
Thieves can obtain your information many ways, don't make it easier for them. Here are some general rules to reduce your risk of having your identity stolen:

Mail Theft
Shred important documents you throw out
Always bring in your mail
Never use your mailbox for outgoing mail
Hand deliver outgoing mail to mail courier
Use a drop box
Going on vacation? Have your mail and newspapers put on hold

The Web
Always use trusted websites
Never reply to emails from strangers
If you get a phone call or an email from your credit card company stating your account has been breached, do not give out information they should already have. Call back to a number you know
Follow this simple rule, "If it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is."
Set up a "Fraud Alert" through one of the credit reporting agencies:

Equifax
Experian
Transunion

For more information or if you have been a victim, check out these resources:

U.S. Postal Inspection Service
Federal Trade Commission
US Secret Service
Department of Justice
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
American Express
Discover
MasterCard
Visa
NEW!
The WICHITA POLICE DEPARTMENT THEFT PACKET

General Information
BARKING DOGS PROCEDURE
(Email Officer Lowe for the helpful Barking Dog Complaint Packet)

In accordance to Ordinance 6.04.040(d)(6), it is unlawful to: "Keep or harbor any animal which, by loud, frequent or habitual barking, howling, yelping or other noise or action, unreasonably disturbs any person or neighborhood thin the corporate limits of the city. To effect legal relief, persons so affected directly may sign a complaint at the Department of Environmental Services". To comply with the ordinance, the following information is needed to file a complaint at the Department of Environmental Services:

1. Name, date of birth, and address of the offending person who owns or harbors the dog/animal
2. Date and time when the offense (or incident) occurred
3. Location of the incident

If the citizen does not have the above information, they should call 911 and request that a police officer to come to their address to obtain the offender's information, they should call the Police Department Case Desk at 268-4216 to file a police incident report. The citizen should then allow three to five days for the incident to be entered into the computer system. After that time, the report should be available from the Police Department Central Records Bureau (268-4186). To file the complaint with the Department of Environmental Services:

1. Obtain a copy of the police incident case report by contacting the Police Record's Bureau at 268-4186.
2. Come to the Department of Environmental Services at 1900 E 9th to file the complaint.
3. Furnish a sworn affidavit for the incident. Environmental Services has notaries available for this purpose.
4. Sign a Universal Complaint Citation form (UCC) and have it notarized.
5. Furnish a list of witnesses to be subpoenaed and their current valid addresses. The list will always include the complainant and their current address, as well as any other witnesses, including the responding PD officer who made the incident report if applicable.

After the above steps, the complaint will be filed with the Municipal Court and entered as an unserved complaint, to be served by the Wichita Police Department Warrant Office and a court date will be assigned. Be advised that the citizen will be required to attend court on the dates subpoenaed. Failure to attend their court date(s) will result in dismissal of the complaint filed, and may result in the complaining citizen being charged with contempt of court.

PORTABLE BASKETBALL GOALS
Basketball is fun and a great source for exercise. However, the very popular portable basketball goals are being set up in neighborhoods adjacent to traffic ways causing a wide range of problems. First there is the safety aspect. Playing in the street is a dangerous practice and should be avoided altogether. Second, theses goals can become a nuisance problem for neighborhoods. Players not moving out of the way for vehicles in the roadway, loud players as well as loud music late at night, as well as blight issues can all hurt the morale and image for the neighborhood. For violations of basketball goals, please read the following:

1. Contact ANY city of Wichita employee and report the violation as well as the address to them.
2. The city employee will call or email Engineering Division's Linda Firsching at 268-4418, or lfirsching@wichita.gov with the address of the violation.
3. Linda Firsching will log the complaint in a database and assigned to a sidewalk inspector who will verify the violation with a photograph.
4. Notifications will be provided to the residence and compliance checks will begin.
5. Continued violations will be subjected to fines and possibly removal of the goal by city employees.

If you are a parent responsible for one of these goals, please be responsible and assure that the basketball goal is not contributing to a dangerous environment or contributing to a nuisance problem. If you are a citizen that wants to report problems arising from a portable basketball goal, follow the steps above.

CURIOUS ABOUT CRIME STATISTICS?
Look up crime statistics in your neighborhood or the whole city! Check out these information resources:

Kansas.com
Wichita Eagle's Thursday Paper
Or the informative and interactive GIS Site

NEW SERVICE!
CITIZEN OBSERVER SERVICE
New resource to get text messages and emails about crime in your area. Get signed up today on www.WichitaPolice.com!
Click Here!

YOUR 39 BEAT OFFICERS
FIRST SHIFT - Officer Laura Crafton lcrafton@wichita.gov
FIRST SHIFT - Officer Darren Sundquist dsundquist@wichita.gov
SECOND SHIFT - Officer Norberto Gonzalez negonzalez@wichita.gov
THIRD SHIFT - Officer Thomas Grindley tcgrindley@wichita.gov
FOURTH SHIFT - Officer Josh Lewis jlewis@wichita.gov
COMMUNITY POLICING - Officer Matt Lowe mlowe@wichita.gov
SCAT - Officer Brent Huhman bhuhman@wichita.gov

HANDY NUMBERS
East Station
688-9300
SCAT (drug enforcement and gang suppression unit)
267-SCAT
Crime Stoppers
267-2111
Citizen's Police Academy
838-9611
Warrant Office
268-4231
Environmental Services
268-8351
Animal Control
268-8473

WICHITA POLICE DEPARTMENT MISSION STATEMENT
The Wichita Police Department's mission is to provide professional and ethical public safety services in partnership with citizens to identify, prevent, and solve the problems of crime, fear of crime, social disorder, and neighborhood decay, thereby improving the quality of life in our community.

Sunday, November 22, 2009 :: Currently 44 degrees in Wichita