The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office presented its annual community policing report to The Woodlands Township during the township's Jan. 24 board of directors meeting, highlighting fraud and personal information-based crimes.

The background

The Woodlands Township contracts with multiple agencies to provide law enforcement services in the community. The township is primarily serviced by:

The annual policing report provided a snapshot of major trends in patrol, auto and internet crimes for the township. Major trends included a decrease in auto accidents and an increase in internet crimes against children, according to the report.

The details

MCSO Capt. Tim Holifield said auto accidents around the township decreased 9% from 2022, with officers responding to 1,117 total accidents in 2023.

As for the number of calls to which MCSO and Harris County officials responded, October saw an unusual spike in calls for service, Holifield said. However, the largest concern in crimes was in the fraud and information division, which Holifield said regularly spikes several times throughout the year. He encouraged residents to be aware of potential phishing scams, which use emails, phone calls or texts to solicit personal information.


The Montgomery County Precinct 3 Constable’s Office presented a report from the Internet Crimes Against Children division. According to data from Precinct 3, the following cases were handled in 2023 through Safe Harbor and the special victims unit.
  • 27 new cases assigned
  • 26 open cases maintained
  • 3 felony charges filed



Quotes of note

“We try to look at things that we call quality-of-life crimes. These are things that we believe the law enforcement officers have the ability to impact and reduce those quality-of-life crimes, which then goes to our strategic plan of reducing crime and the fear of crime. So if we can reduce quality-of-life crimes, you feel safer,” Holifield said.

“As safe as we are, crime still happens,” township board Chair Ann Snyder said. “People are moving more up [from Harris County], but I want people to be aware of the need to turn on your alarm [in The Woodlands].”