By Maggie Ybarra
El Paso Times
EL PASO, Texas — With cold weather keeping people indoors, El Paso police in November responded to the fewest service calls since May.
The reduction in calls comes because of the change in the weather, said police spokesman Darrel Petry. Crimes of opportunity tend to lessen as more people stay home.
“There are more people inside during the colder months or winter months, so we see a decrease,” he said.
Of the five police command centers, the Mission Valley Regional Command Center received the most calls per officer in November.
Cmdr. Victor Zarur said his officers are quick to respond to every call made in the Lower Valley.
“All the regions have different needs and problems and all, but what we try to do in the Mission Valley is when we address a call for service, we want to get it right the first time,” he said. “If it’s a neighborhood dispute we want to be able to go out there, take care of it, make sure that everyone has their needs addressed.”
The officers protect about 132,000 residents within a 32 square-mile area, he said. According to police records, the area has seen a 10 percent increase in burglaries this year.
“We have a large amount of theft calls, a lot of beer runs and stuff that keeps us busy, including assault,” said Lt. Gabriel Lucero. “Those types of calls, especially at night and on the weekend, take a lot of our resources and, of course, they contribute to other calls.”
A wide array of problems can come from something as simple as a beer calls for police assistance with people disturbing the peace, public intoxication, or curfew violations, he said.
Zarur said the public can help by calling the police nonemergency number to alert officers to any suspicious activity.
“We’re stronger if we have citizens out there making communication with us as to what they’re seeing at parking lots and stores,” he said. “Often someone sees suspicious activity and they may not give it a second thought but ... if something doesn’t seem right, make contact with us.”
Copyright 2010 El Paso Times, a MediaNews Group Newspaper