Crime Prevention Tips
This message is from Shannon Taylor, the Forest Hill Neighborhood Watch Co-ordinator:
Given the recent robberies in Woodland Heights and Forest Hill, I thought I’d pass along some tips to help us catch the criminals and stop them from returning to our neighborhood.
- Report Suspicious People or Behavior. Most crimes are solved by citizens reporting suspicious behavior. The police cannot be everywhere 24/7 and heavily rely upon us (there are 700+ of us!!) to alert them to suspicious people or activity. As a former city prosecutor, almost every arrest report I received began with the officer stating, “I responded to a citizen call…” This is not the time to fret over manners or worry about offending someone. Call 911 or the non-emergency police line 646-5100 when you see something out of place on your street. Let the police do their job by approaching and engaging suspicious people – no harm if it turns out to be nothing, but your “spidey” sense will likely lead to the arrest of one of these robbers. Do not assume that someone else will make that phone call.
- Trust Your Instincts. You know your neighbors and the cars they drive. If you see a stranger or strange car, call the police. Let them check it out. If you are about to enter or exit your home or get out of your car and you see this, be safe and stay inside for a few minutes or drive around the block as you call police. The robbers are sometimes approaching people from their own cars.
- Be Observant. If you see something unusual, note details such as the type of car, color, license plate number, height, weight, clothing, age, facial hair, clothing. The more details we can give the police, the better chance that they will track the person down and determine whether he/she is good or bad.
The past 4 robberies have the following in common:
- occurred within a half mile of each other near in the streets surrounding FH Park
1. occurred during the week (Tuesday – Thursday)
2. occurred at night, from 6:30pm – 10:15pm
3. victims were exiting vehicles or walking
4. assailants were young black men, 16-25 years old
5. assailants were slender, 120lbs to 160 lbs
6. assailants were average height, 5’7 to 5’9
7. ALL HAD GUNS!!!!!
Please take care. Together we can drive these nasty criminals out of our neighborhoods!
Sounds like several of these incidents happened when the robbers opened an unlocked car door. Remember to keep your car doors locked at all times. Make it a habit to lock your doors when you get in your car and maybe you can prevent an unwanted “passenger.”
It seems that all of the victims have handled the situation perfectly, by handing over what the robber wants without any hesitation.
I was wondering if any of the victims would be willing to give any more details about the robbery. Specifically, were the victims able to say anything or do anything to help diffuse the situation and get out of harms way? Did the robber seem high or was he lucid? As a victim do you have any advice (other than give them what they want)? Would you have done anything differently?
I have a 2 year old and am very pregnant, I feel very vulnerable getting my son out of the car. In the last robbery on 41st an armed man got into the car with the victim, which is extremely dangerous. I am hoping that by, thinking ahead, I will say and do the right thing to end the situation safely if I am a victim.
If anyone has any advice to this effect please share what you are comfortable sharing if you think it could help others.
Thanks.
Am wondering why the Richmond Police seem to be totally unable to prevent our city having such an astonishingly high crime rate. Or perhaps they are just uninterested in making this a priority.
Connie, the police can’t be everywhere at once. I’m not the least bit happy about what’s happened in Woodland Heights, because my children are spending part of their time within a block of most of it. RPD needs our vigilance and communication to stop the people responsible, and from what I’ve seen on here and on the WH Yahoo group, I don’t think they’re “uninterested in making this a priority.”
My dad was the victim last Thursday night and we’ve talked about the incident quite a bit. He said that the man who robbed him did seem nervous but, with a gun, he was certainly had the upper hand. My dad just gave him what he asked for and then man left, thank heavens.We also speculate that the robber was dropped off near the car after seeing my dad get into it – after robbing my dad the man ran around the corner and hopped into a waiting car. It was a nondescript white compact car and after the man ran away my dad got back into his car and drove after them, following close enough to get a license plate number. Unfortunately, when the police ran the number nothing turned up.
I don’t think that the Richmond police could have reposnded more quickly and courteously that night. Within minutes there were three squad cars and two dectectives at the scene, and the dectectives stayed for another hour to talk to all of us – one even came back the next day to get fingerprints and DNA off of my dad’s car. In addition, last night a squad car parked across the street from my house for about 20 mintes and later that evening I saw one driving slowly down 41st. I feel as though they are doing all they can and with our help these theives will get their comeuppance. The detective told us that since these are armed robberies the men responsible will serve additional jail time.
Thanks for the detail and update.
Robbery Tip – REMEMBER THE TAILLIGHTS
The detective told my dad that a car’s taillights are one of its most identifying features. So, if you see a robbers car and only have time to focus on one thing, try to remember as much detail as you can about the taillights.
I was the victim of a mugging in Washington DC years ago as I was entering my car. I know how fast these things happen and how hard it is to focus on details when you are in danger. Suzanne, I’m so glad your dad is okay!
One additional detail to focus on if you are the victim or witness during a crime: shoes. It is very easy for a criminal to change shirts, sweatshirts or even pants, but they are much less likely to change their shoes. Prior to hearing this advice from a police officer, I don’t think I ever would have taken a careful look at someone’s shoes.
Megan, you are so right. My mom thought that she saw the man running away with something white in his hands and we can only guess that it was his shirt. My dad and I saw him in a blue shirt and yet he could have changed into something else (white?) quickly. Thank you for your post and for the good word for my dad!