As Greater Houston area development and population growth continue to sprawl outward into Tomball and Magnolia, local law enforcement entities and residents are ramping up efforts to combat an increase in specific crime rates throughout the community.
From 2012–13, Tomball Police Department statistics indicate a 67 percent rise in robbery rates and a 20 percent increase in auto theft in the city. In Magnolia, car burglaries and driving while intoxicated rates have both grown by more than 50 percent each, and criminal mischief crimes, such as vandalism, have risen 60 percent from 2013–14.
A larger population moving to the Tomball and Magnolia areas means more calls for service, heavier workloads for officers and slower response times for service calls, Magnolia interim Police Chief Charles Wedemeyer said. An increase in minor police calls can reduce the overall effectiveness of a police force in protecting its residents against more serious crimes, he said.
"What once seemed like an out-of-town trip to [Tomball or] Magnolia is just up the street [now]," Wedemeyer said. "The criminal element goes to where they get the biggest bang for their buck."
Though the TPD service area encompasses a significant portion of Tomball-area residents, MPD only operates jurisdiction within the 2.5-mile city limits, serving 1,500 residents. The estimated 138,000 residents located in the surrounding Magnolia area receive law enforcement services under the jurisdiction of the Montgomery County sheriff's office and the Montgomery County Precinct 5 constable's office.
Tomball crime trends
Tomball Police Chief Billy Tidwell said the city has seen an increase in armed robberies over a two-year period, from six in 2012 to 10 in 2013.
"I do think there is a direct correlation between population [growth] and crime," Tomball Police Department Captain Rick Grassi said.
Though Tomball's robbery rates are not as high as the rest of Harris County, which averages up to 400 crimes per month, Grassi said the police department takes local crime seriously. "Most of our violent crimes come from out of the area," Grassi said. "Out of our robberies, we've [solved the cases for] almost every one, and the suspects are outside of Tomball. They're coming to Tomball to try to victimize our citizens."
Grassi said a string of robberies carried out in Tomball in late 2014 suggests the town may become a target for criminals from surrounding areas.
"These are armed robberies—these are people with guns," he said. "The most dramatic one was just before Christmas behind Shipley's Donuts [near Hwy. 249]. That was the second robbery of a person [the two suspects] had done. [The suspects] had done 11 [robberies] in Harris County that day and shot a person. These are people right next door coming in."
From 2009–13, TPD statistics indicate other crimes committed in the Tomball area, such as rape and aggravated assault, have seen an overall decline. In order to combat serious crime, Grassi said officers have become more proactive in patrolling the community.
Grassi said Tomball's 25-officer patrol unit is effective at deterring much of the crime that finds its way into the city of about 11,000 residents.
"The best crime-prevention is somebody just seeing a uniformed officer and a marked car." —James Senegal, Magnolia Police Department executive officer
"Our response time to in-progress calls is less than one minute," Grassi said. "Our police department has maintained a 53 percent clearance rate for all crime. The national average is about 18 percent. More than 50 percent of our crimes are cleared—many by arrest."
Crime trends in Magnolia city limits
In the city of Magnolia, police department statistics from 2013–14 indicate crime rates for car burglaries rose from four to 11 cases, and criminal mischief grew from 15 to 25 cases. In addition, evading arrest bookings have increased from four to 10 instances and driving while intoxicated cases climbed from 24 to 69 cases.
Criminals from Houston often see smaller, quieter towns such as Magnolia as ripe targets because low-traffic areas may indicate fewer possible witnesses to crimes, Wedemeyer said.
"[In] most of the suburbs as they build, they build nicer houses," Wedemeyer said. "It doesn't mean that we take any crime away from the city of Houston; you just get more criminals in your area because they're target rich. [There are] nicer cars, nicer houses [and] nicer things to steal."
Though Tomball has seen a rise in robbery rates, the Magnolia Police Department reported no robbery cases in 2014. Over the past two years, MPD has seen a drop in reported cases of aggravated assault from 25 to nine instances and theft cases have decreased from 32 to 24. Burglaries have held steady at nine cases during 2013–14.
MPD Executive Officer James Senegal said Magnolia has a relatively low crime rate and call volume compared with other cities in the area. MPD is a smaller-scale operation than TPD and employs 10 officers for patrol duty. Wedemeyer said a visible law enforcement presence tends to be effective at deterring crime.
"The best crime-prevention is somebody just seeing a uniformed officer and a marked car," he said.
Safety efforts, programs
In the Tomball and Magnolia areas, police officers frequently meet with residents and businesses to share crime prevention tactics designed to increase safety in the community and deter crime.
TPD offers self-defense courses for women several times a year and hosts other crime-prevention programs for apartment and bank managers, Tidwell said.
Tidwell said it is common for some people to dismiss their instincts of self-preservation and ignore feelings of fear that can potentially keep them out of dangerous crime situations.
"When our body gets that fight or flight [response] and says something's wrong, we need to pay attention to that," Tidwell said.
In Magnolia, the department offers crime prevention courses and a citizens police academy to educate the community about public safety, Wedemeyer said. MPD also offers a vacation watch program—where residents can sign up for extra police patrols of their properties while out of town, Senegal said.
At the Jan. 13 City Council meeting, Magnolia city officials announced plans to organize a committee to name a permanent leader for the department following the Nov. 18 resignation of former Magnolia Police Chief Domingo Ibarra. Though MPD is experiencing a leadership transition, Wedemeyer said the department is committed to developing a larger scope of public safety programs for residents in the future.
Neighborhood watch programs
According to local law enforcement officials and residents, neighborhood watch programs can be effective at deterring crime.
Robert Patterson, president of the Creekside Place community association in Tomball, said alert residents and high-tech software help deter crime in his area.
"We've got a lot of nosy neighbors, and we have a lot of cameras mounted on a lot of our homes," Patterson said.
Patterson said he and many other residents in his neighborhood use security cameras on their properties to deter crime.
John Bramlett, board of trustees member for the 100-home Windmill Estates neighborhood in Magnolia, said he has not noticed a surge in crime in the area and feels relatively safe in the community.
"Our concern, and I've seen this happen, is you get behind, and you don't recognize the patterns as they're coming. Services suffer and you're trying to catch up. I think Tomball has done a good job looking ahead and being proactive." —Tomball Police Chief Billy Tidwell
"We don't have that much crime," Bramlett said. "[The numbers are] almost zero, but it's good to have someone patrolling the area."
Windmill Estates is planning to revive its neighborhood watch program, and many residents stay home during the day who will call the neighborhood's homeowners association to report suspicious activity, he said.
Deterring crime in the future
Tidwell said the Tomball City Council has been supportive of the police department's needs, but it is important to increase public safety to adequately prepare for the effects of future growth and development.
"Our concern, and I've seen this happen, is you get behind, and you don't recognize the patterns as they're coming," Tidwell said. "Services suffer and you're trying to catch up. I think Tomball has done a good job looking ahead and being proactive."
In Magnolia, Senegal said officials aim to find ways to best allocate its law enforcement personnel throughout the community, despite a lack of financial resources.
Wedemeyer said it is difficult for MPD to anticipate patrol staffing needs in advance because future development can have exponential effects on traffic and population growth in the area.
"In most all agencies, they've got a contingency plan for a [sharp rise] in population," Wedemeyer said. "It would mean more people, more equipment [and] more programs pretty much across the board. I think everybody would like to plan ahead."
