Neighborhood Safety: Key Insights from the June Town Hall
Thanks to Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Benninger, San Marcos Crime Prevention Specialist Minu LeBrown and San Marcos Housing Neighborhood Services’ Sylvia Daniels, our Neighborhood Safety Town Hall meeting was a success.
We learned there are two ways to get non-emergency support:
1. 858.565.5200 is the Sheriff’s non-emergency #
o Report suspicious activity or vehicles (911 is for crime in progress)
o Request additional patrols including volunteer patrols to ensure your house is secure when you’re out of town and to set packages aside so as not to attract attention
2. City of San Marcos App: Report A Concern: https://www.san-marcos.net/live/report-a-concern
o Remove graffiti, repair potholes, street & traffic light outages
Most people choose not to call the Sheriff’s non-emergency number because they don’t want to inconvenience law enforcement. The problem with not reporting issues is the city is under the impression that we have no problems. We should be reporting every time:
o a car is broken into on Boulderidge
o a car is drag racing on Rancho Santa Fe Rd or Melrose
o a broken bottle or latex gloves are found on Boulderidge
o a party takes place on Boulderidge
The neighborhoods that log hundreds of calls each year are the ones that get attention. We logged only 30 non-emergency calls in the past year. Without multiple residents submitting simultaneous complaints, when we tell the city we have an issue with partying, vandalism and theft on Boulderidge, they don’t believe us. We shouldn’t be counting on one resident to call to submit a complaint/concern, everyone who is impacted should call. If fifteen residents hear drag racing on Rancho Santa Fe Rd on Friday at 9pm, fifteen residents should call the non-emergency number to submit a complaint. Once the city sees our complaints escalate, they will be more willing to station traffic patrol on Boulderidge to catch and ticket offenders which will effectively shut down drag racing in our area. If ten residents observe broken bottles and the remnants of partying on Boulderidge, ten residents should call. And those same ten residents should submit a request on the San Marcos app to have the debris removed.
Neighborhood Watch varies from community to community. The ideal scenario is having block captains who live in different parts of the development. Collectively, the block captains keep in touch with one another, reporting any concerns. We are fortunate to have retired Deputy Sheriff Greg Giddings as our lead captain. Greg will regularly communicate with the city, our block captains and residents. If you regularly walk the neighborhood, you are an ideal candidate for block captain. Minimal effort is required apart from being mindful and sharing information with Greg who will in turn share it with the other block captains. If you’re interested in participating - regardless of whether you own or rent – contact us at info@laurelmagnoliahoa.com
The better we know our neighbors, the friendlier, more respectful and safer our neighborhood becomes.
