The Fairways at Surrey Hills Homeowners Association
Safety Meeting
Neighborhood Safety Meeting held in August:
A community safety meeting was held on August 8, 2022, due to recent incidents of property crimes. Thank you to the more than 100 people from Surrey Hills neighborhoods who attended. We heard from MSgt. Skalla and Sgt. Frankes of the Oklahoma City Police Department as well as our Ward 1 city councilman Bradley Carter. They provided information about recent crimes and steps we can take to protect our families and property with the goal of NOT
becoming a victim. Here are some key points:
01
You make the difference in preventing crime by how you take care of your home. PD doesn't prevent crime (unfortunately, can't be everywhere all the time. And PD is shorthanded by 150 officers and are actively recruiting. PD responds and holds those who commit crimes accountable.
02
Don't make crime easy for criminals-remove candy from the jar by removing everything from vehicles and locking them. Even small change in view will be enough motiva- tion for a criminal. Remove garage door openers! Best to park in the garage to entirely remove the opportunity. Each night check vehicles, doors, windows, and the set alarm.
03
Get to know your neighbors. Get involved in your HOA. Have meetings to determine what you can do together to stop putting out a welcome mat for the criminals. (Also see last bullet below).
04
Call 911 for anything suspicious. About 30% of all crime goes unreported. You can be anonymous. The way to get extra patrols in your neighborhood is to call 911 so PD can track suspicious activity as well as crimes committed. When in doubt, call them out. Look closely to get good description of people and get licence plate number.
05
Criminals scope out places to target. They don't want to get caught. They will take the path of least resistance, like walking in dark places and pulling vehicle door handles. Light up the neighborhood-- install motion-activated LED lighting of 3,000 lumens or more (like it is daylight at night). Light your front and back doors and driveway.
06
Have a plan about what you will do if anyone suspicious is around your house or breaks in. You have a right to defend yourself, but don't wait to figure out what you'll do until it happens. The #1 Priority is to get away from the threat. The Department of Homeland Security recommends 1) Run when you can, 2) Hide when you can't, and 3) Fight as the last resort. Have a plan and have all family members practice the plan.
07
Those who have been caught recently have stolen a vehicle to drive into dark neighborhoods where people don't lock their vehicles and they have valuable items like purses, guns, computers, cameras, etc. easily in sight. Most perputrators are in the 18-23 year age range. Most are not part of known gangs. Many have records of other crimes they've committed. Reports of home invasions and people tied up are not true--don't rely on social media for your information, and don't report crime on social media--call 911.
08
Install HD cameras, minimum 1080 HD. Police will welcome any video you have of any criminal activity or suspicious activity.
09
Compared to other parts of the city, Surrey Hills has very low crime. Even one is too much so the way to reduce/eliminate crime is to not provide the opportunity and watch for and report suspicious activity.
10
An effort is being made to start the Neighborhood Watch Patrol group that organizes neighbors to patrol (in pairs) in their vehicles (not golf carts) to report any suspicious activity. Note that this is a program of the Oklahoma City PD (you live in OKC-not Yukon, in case you didn't know) and you CANNOT carry a weapon while you drive the neighborhoods if doing so as part of this program. You are to watch and report--not persue or detain. Those in attendance who were interested in participating placed their contact info on a list. Debra (Fairways HOA) will be scheduling another meeting to talk specifically how to get this going and MSgt. Skalla will attend. If you did not attend the meeting on August 8 and want to be involved in Neighborhood Watch Patrol, please reach out to Debra at her email address: emailthedebra@gmail.com.
Other Info:
Other printed information was provided to those who attended. If you live in any Surrey Hills development, you were invited. Neighborhoods included are:
- The Fairways at Surrey Hills
- Surrey Hills HOA #1
- Surrey Hills HOA #2
- Surrey Gates
- Del Norte
- The Meadows at Surrey Hills
- Villas at the Meadows
- Surrey West
- Southfork at Surrey Hills
- Summerhill
- Redstone Ranch
- The Enclave at Redstone
- NEW Coeur D'Alene
Thank you to MSgt. Skalla, Sgt. Frankes, and our Ward 1 City Councilman
Bradley Carter.
