Retribution using our Roving Patrol

Having ties with BSO does not entitle residents to waste the time of BSO Officers.

The Girl Scout Cookie culprit has admitted that they made the call to police regarding Girl Scout Cookie signs in the Woodlands, eliminating the impression that it was a resident in Section Five.

On Monday, a Section Three resident that had an issue with a story that was written about BSO, said that she is the one that called them because of the cookie signs.  The reason?  This blog, and a story called “Are we getting our money’s worth?”

This resident, who is our Security Chairperson is using BSO as her personal police force and told other residents she has been monitoring my home for any infraction that she can report.   For example, me along with a team of other residents are COPs volunteers.  We share the BSO issued car and rotate our shifts on a weekly basis.    One day, I had the COPs car backed in my driveway and one side of the wheels were on the grass.   The Section Three resident (who lives on the other side of the Woodlands) wasted BSO’s time calling them to report that the wheels were on the grass.  They made a trip over to my house to have me to move the car.

We hire BSO to protect us in the Woodlands at an hourly rate.  These officers do an incredible job in our community watching out for criminal activity and reporting these details at our monthly Homeowners Association Meetings.  My only issue that I’ve had in the past and present with BSO is making sure they are doing the job that we are paying for while they are on the clock, or should I say, the $30-an-hour clock.  For instance, while driving our COPs car with my partner this past week, we noticed our BSO roving patrol sitting at a clubhouse doing paperwork for a long period of time, and let our COPs supervisor know.   Word got to this resident and she was said to became angry at me and my partner, making excuses for BSO.   First, the officer was busy doing paperwork,  then he was monitoring an active police perimeter, then she said that she was on the phone with him at that exact time.   Every homeowner in the Woodlands contributes $335 a year towards a $300,000 annual budget for our roving patrol.  It’s important that we always know that we are getting our money’s worth.

This isn’t the first time that a roving patrol was sitting in a clubhouse driveway.   If our hired security patrol person needs to do relevant paperwork for our community, they need to stop parking at the clubhouses and the country club valet area (the country club does not pay for this extra security) and park near our entrances or near a street where they are visible.   If they are doing investigative work, then the homeowners do not need to be paying for BSO’s work.  They need to call another officer on duty.

What would happen if the Woodlands didn’t pay for a roving patrol?   Would any BSO cars drive around the Woodlands?    Before BSO took over from the City of Tamarac, residents say that the city routinely had an officer patrolling the Woodlands…..at no additional cost.

Remember, our BSO Roving Patrol is here to help fight crime.  Contact them if you suspect a crime taking place or see something suspicious going on.  Never grow complacent about where your money goes and always expect the best service in return.  Questioning what appears to be lack of patrolling, as well as exorbitant costs, is not a reason to single a resident out for retribution.