Have you or anyone you know been a crime victim in the Houston area? (Austin: credit card, homes)

[EasilyAmused]

Smash and grab of my car in The Woodlands. Montgomery Police. 6 hours to show up (non-emergency), chaulked it up to "kids." Case closed.

Neighbors house in The Woodlands was robbed during the day.

I guess that's it.

[AK123]

Nope, not personally. Been here over ten years now and lived in several areas along the west side and Sugar Land. Have been amazingly lucky.

However, I know several people who have been victims here. Mostly car break-ins. The exception was a co-worker who was kidnapped over near the Tully stadium area on the west side (used to office near there.) She ended up fine, but needless to say moved out of Texas and back to the east coast now.

Now, I lived in Austin for fewer years than here and had all kinds of things happen. Car broken into and every CD stolen (back before the age of iPods), apartment door kicked in, graffiti issues all over my area, and several good friends assaulted and mugged near downtown on multiple occasions. A few ended up in the hospital and the medical staff told them it was likely gang initiations. So much for Austin being statistically safer... just goes to show personal experience can greatly differ from how it's "supposed" to be (probably depends on the area of town too).

[TFW46]

I survived an attempted car-jacking in May 2005. I was stopped at a traffic light on Beechnut at Dairy-Ashford at 5:00 PM on a Sunday when I was rear-ended. I sat in my car, getting out my drivers license and insurance paperwork, when the same car backed up and rear-ended me three more times. That's when I looked in the rear-view mirror and saw five black men get out and stand by the doors of their old beater car, waiting for me to get out of my car.

The car in front of me then ran the red light, apparently to give me a chance to get away. But I didnt run. I got mad. I'd had lasik surgery the previous month and had special goggles to protect my eyes from wind damage. I put the goggles on quickly and grabbed my eyeglass case, holding it like a gun. Then I took a "shooter stance" and aimed the eyeglass case at the five men. They ran like the cowards they were, abandoning their car on the street.

By then the traffic light had turned green, although most of the other drivers were still there, watching the drama. I got back in my car and drove off to the nearest "safe area" to check my car for damage. The damage was minimal and, after I calmed down, I drove off to run some errands.

I didnt report the incident to the police. In retrospect, I realize that my gut reaction was not very intelligent. But the experience taught me a few things and the next time someone tries to car-jack me, he'll find something more deadly than an eyeglass glass pointing at him.

[chris_ut]

Nope, nothing here.

[tstone]

Car got broken into, stereo stolen. HPD said 'here is your case number', for me to file with the insurance so I could get it fixed. Apparently they don't respond to burglary of a vehicle because it is so common.

From what I gather, they don't always respond if your home burglar alarm goes off and your monitoring service calls them.

[TFW46]

they don't always respond if your home burglar alarm goes off and your monitoring service calls them

As I understand it, they may not respond if your burglar alarm permit isnt up to date. (You'd be surprised how many people dont pay the annual renewal fee on their alarm system.) Apparently the PD checks its computer system to see if the permit is in force before responding to an alarm call. That's what happened to a friend of mine.

[modster]

It's been over 20 years since I had anything happen to me, thank God. When Gunspoint was starting to first go down I still lived there in an apartment and a guy jumped me at the pool. A weekday and no one was there and he yanked a chain off my neck and was over the fence before I knew what happened. That was when I got out of Greenspoint.

When I was still living at home in Memorial Northwest off Louetta, my parents home got broken into. My cousin that also lived in the neighborhood had his truck stolen out of his driveway In 35 years out there that is the only problem either of them have ever had.

When I lived off of fashionable Washington Ave 6 or 7 years ago, it wasn't as trendy as it is today. I was kind of surprised I never got broken into in that house. It was real old (1862) and had doors onto the back porch from the front hall, the kitchen, the bedroom and the bathroom. There was no garage so it would be pretty obvious when someone was home or not. I had bums, er, I mean homeless come and knock on my friggin door asking for water, twice. But that was the closest to any problems there & it was nothing more than a petty annoyance. So far in 3 years in Glenbrook I haven't had any problems.

[SteveArmy]

just fashion crimes

[modster]

Originally Posted by SteveArmy

just fashion crimes

Oh Lordie, let's not start counting those! I would have a "rap sheet" a mile long.

[AcresHomes44]

One of my friends got his car shot up with an AK. He was going to see his family on Cavalcade in the Northside and some fools rushed his car and started spraying. Luckily my friend played dead or that hot lead would've done him in.