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Tarrant County residents of Burleson are armed with the tools to make a difference in property values and the appearance of their city.
On Nov. 21, members of the Citizens On Patrol, Community Resource Officer Mike Owen and Mayor Ken Shetter went door to door in the Tarrant County part of Burleson to leave Gun and Gang Busters door hangers on the front door of each residence. The door hanger encourages residents to call 817-469- 8477 to report gun or gang crimes. Residents may also leave a tip by visiting www.469tips.com.
The Burleson effort is concentrated on using the phone number and Web site to report graffiti.
“There has been a gradual increase in the amount of graffiti that we have seen, citywide,” Owen said. “We can expect that with our growing population, but we are not going to just sit back and watch it happen. Graffiti alone can have negative effects on property value, the citizens’ sense of feeling safe, and other criminal activity.”
Gun and Gang Busters is part of a program coordinated by Safe City Commission, of which the mayor is the executive director, and the Northern District of Texas Project Safe Neighborhoods.
In addition to the traditional Crime Stoppers money rewarded for a crime, Safe City Commission Crime Stoppers will add a bonus reward of up to $250 for information leading to an arrest in gun- or gang-related crimes in Tarrant County.
Any tip involving the seizure of a gun, a crime in which a gun was used, or crimes that are gang-related or gang-involved are eligible for the bonus. This includes aggravated offenses involving a gun, drug offenses involving gang members, gang graffiti and criminal mischief, and coercing, soliciting or inducing gang membership.
This is the second time door hangers have been used in Tarrant County but the first time Burleson residents were included. The mayor said that in the first half of 2008, “We had a dramatic increase in graffiti tips that we received and paid out. Last year, the door hangers did lead to multiple arrests.”
Owen said the city of Burleson is working on a program to have graffiti removed within the first 48 hours of being reported. Citizens on Patrol members are also trying to catch the graffiti suspects.
“What we did Tuesday is just one way that we are addressing the problem of graffiti,” Owen said. “That was our effort to educate the citizens in an area that has fallen victim to graffiti.”
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