FWPD West Division Newsletter

April 2024

Annual Community Safety Fair Held March 23, 2024 at LVT Rise Community Center

In partnership with Cook Children's Injury Prevention Team, West Division held its Annual Community Safety Fair at the LVT Rise Community Center.  Presentations on various safety topics were covered including Safe Baby, Child Safety Seats, Gun Safety, Poison Prevention and Water Safety.  Parents were given the opportunity to participate in two (2) different types of Kids ID programs. Parents could elect to register their child digitally on the FBI Child ID app or if parents decided that they wanted to retain an actual copy of their child's identification information, they could elect to use the Fingerprint and Photo ID file kit provided by the National Child Safety Council (NCSC).  Children were invited to participate in an interactive game related to safety.  Depending on the topic selected, children were asked a safety question related to the topic, and if they could answer the question correctly, they could select a prize.  Numerous agencies participated in the event including Boys & Girls Club, Catholic Charities, Challenge of Tarrant County, Code Blue Citizens on Patrol, Code Compliance, Fort Worth Drowning Prevention Coalition, FWFD, FWISD (Parent Partnerships, Zero to Five), FWPD, James L. West Center for Dementia Care, JPS, North Texas Poison Center, NPOs, TCU and volunteers from the community.  As the saying goes "A picture is worth a thousand words" so we've included several pictures highlighting the event. 

West Division Officer A. Demore engages with students at Blue Haze Elementary School

West Division Patrol Officer Amanda Demore is teamed up with Carolyn Gilmore to lead the Investigator's Club for Academy 4.  Academy 4 is a program designed to mentor students by providing them with a positive view of the future which in turn encuourages students to stay on track with their academics. In addition, students are given the opportunity to engage with the officers to discuss and explore various topics pertaining to leadership. Officer Demore comes in early once a month to mentor and engage with the students.  In the photo to the right, Officer Demore is seen mentoring a group of students at Blue Haze Elementary School.

West Division Directed Response Unit (DRU) Team 5 recognized by U.S. Postal Inspectors

The United States Postal Inspectors recognized West Division DRU Team 5 for their dedicated work and assistance to address mail theft and arrow key robberies.  According to WCIU Detective Bjorklund who was a key member in these operations, DRU Team 5 were "All Stars" as they were there whenever he needed their assistance in the past year.  According to Detective Bjorklund, once a suspect or suspect vehicle was identified, the DRU team would do surveillance on the target for days or weeks at a time until the suspect was taken into custody. A job well done by all!

King District NPO's participate in Coffee with a COP events

Pictured below, on March 6, 2024, NPO's from King District participated in a Coffee with a COP event at the Starbucks at Clearfork.  Residents had an opportunity to get to meet with the officers that cover their neighborhood and ask questions or express their concern on matters that were of a particular interest to them.  Similar events will be held at the Starbucks at 501 University Dr. on March 27, 2024, from 10:00 am to 11:00 am as well as on April 1, 2024, at the Starbucks located at 5901 Camp Bowie Blvd from 9:00 am to 11:00 am. Come and meet the officers that patrol your neighborhoods. No agenda, no speeches, just good conversation.

Pictured above, on March 27, 2024, NPOs from King District participated in a Coffee with a COP event at the newly remodeled Starbucks at 501 University Drive.  Customers had the opportunity to interact with the officers to discuss matters that were of interest or of concern to them.

Security Awareness Training held at Ladera Tovolo Park

Residents of Ladera Tovolo Park attended a Security Awareness training on March 20, 2024.  The presentation was given by Crime Prevention Specialist Steve Mitsuhashi.  The primary focus of the presentation was to raise awareness about internet safety in order to avoid becoming a victim to an internet scam.  NPO Vasquez who was recently assigned to beat King 19 also attended the presentation and was able to answer many of the questions posed by the attendees.

West Division NPOs participate in security detail for Governor Abbott NPOs from West Division were asked to take part in a uniform security detail that was led by the Fort Worth Police Department's Homeland Security unit. The NPOs provided physical security for Governor Abbott who recently spoke at a local event in town.

NPO Beat

Matthew Medders named new King District Lieutenant Matthew Medders was recently named the new King District Lieutenant replacing Lt. Jessie Alaniz who is transferring to begin his new role with Tactical Command. Before being named to his new position, Lt. Medders had experience as a District Lt. in Central Division and, most recently, with the Vice Section.  He has also worked in West Patrol and West CIU so he is familiar with the division.  As a Sergeant, Lt. Medders worked in South and East Patrol, Training Division and South CIU.

NPO Steven Howze retires after 20 year career.   Lincoln 13 NPO Steven Howze recently retired after a 20 year career with the FWPD.  One of the things that NPO Howze is looking forward to  is getting an earlier tee time on the golf course, especially as the summer months approach.  NPO Zach Park is the new NPO for Lincoln 13.

What are NPO’s? 

By having the Neighborhood Patrol Officers dedicated to specific geographic areas, the officers are not only able to become more familiar with the area than regular patrol officers, but they are also able to serve as a resource for and get to know area residents and business owners, learn about neighborhood concerns, and build working relationships with area Citizen on Patrol volunteers to work hand-in-hand in reducing neighborhood crime and promoting crime prevention tools. 

Primary Duties: 

• Work with crime analysts to identify crime trends within assigned neighborhoods, maintain open lines of communication with detectives, and assist the Information Management Section and supervisors in planning appropriate actions to address issues. 
• Foster positive community leadership as a means to empower citizens within their neighborhoods by encouraging involvement in Citizens on Patrol, Citizen Police Academy, and Crime Watch to work collaboratively to reduce crime and promote crime prevention tools. 
• Maintain open lines of communication between residents, business owners and the police department by attending community meetings and events, including neighborhood association and other community meetings. 
• Recruit Citizen on Patrol volunteers, schedule them for training, and provide on-going training and correspondence to encourage and retain active memberships. 

**Enter your address on http://oneaddress.fortworthtexas.gov/ You will find your BEAT and NPO assigned as well as your nearest City Facilities, Services, and Crime Data. 

211 Texas - Connecting People and Services

No matter where you live in Texas, you can dial 2-1-1, or (877) 541-7905, and find information about resources in your local community. Whether you need help finding food or housing, child care, crisis counseling or substance abuse treatment, one number is all you need to know. 

Scam Alert!

New tech support scammers want your life savings

By

 

Amy Hebert

Consumer Education Specialist

March 7, 2024

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As we continue our deep dive into imposter scams, we’re taking a look at a new twist on tech support scams. Ever deal with a tech support scam? A warning pops up on your computer. It says your computer has a virus and gives you a number to call for help. You often end up paying hundreds of dollars to a scammer who pretends to deal with the fake virus. Now scammers are upping the stakes — instead of hundreds of dollars, people are unknowingly handing over tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars to tech support scammers. Here’s how.

Tech scammers still use fake security pop-ups to get you to call a number. But instead of telling you there’s a virus, they now say someone hacked your bank, investment, or retirement account and is using it for fraud. To “help,” they transfer you to another scammer who pretends to be with a government agency (like the Federal Trade Commission or the FBI) or the fraud department at your bank. The scammer says the only way to protect your money is to transfer it to a new account. The problem is the scammer controls that new account and quickly cleans it out. 

Other scammers take the same approach but tell you to “protect” your money by buying gift cards and sharing the numbers on the back, buying bitcoin and sharing the account information, or withdrawing cash or buying gold and dropping it off to someone in person.

Here's what to know:

• Never call a number on a security pop-up warning. Pop-ups that tell you to call tech support are always scams.
• Never move or transfer your money to “protect it.” Only a scammer will tell you to do that.
• Never give someone a verification code to log in to your account. Scammers want it to get into your account.
• Call your real bank, broker, or investment advisor if you’re worried. And use a number you know is real.

Upcoming Community Center Events

LVT Rise Community Center

Thomas Place Community Center