We saw some retreat in the number of reported crimes in District 1 in May. The one murder cited is the murder/suicide that occurred in a city park by a father taking his son's life and then his own. Although neither lived in Garland, it was a tragic event and emotionally affected all of us.
 
Home burglaries rose for the month. Except one, all of these invasions occurred in fairly close proximity and most were within a block or two of either Pleasant Valley Rd or Castle Dr. Several also occurred in the Valley Creek neighborhoods. Residents must remain acutely aware of all activities in their area and to look for strangers. Any suspicious activity merits noting license numbers, number of individuals, ages, and other details that may be of use if incidents continue. Feel free to report suspicious activity to the Police Dept. Such information is often useful later. Also, Police know a number of these may have been committed by teenagers skipping school. Read the update to last month's crime post.
 
Theft in our retail and commercial areas remains high. Again, a high number is this category can be good because it means a lot of shoplifters are being caught. That might be something to spread among our teenagers: shoplifters are regularly caught.
 
If you want to review the areas that have reported incidents over the last month, download the complete report here for address-by-address information that includes your neighborhood.