Over the last several months, crime has hovered in the range we typically see. It dropped significantly in September but by November was higher than average because, mostly, of an increase in home burglaries and thefts. Shoplifting is often a major component of the Theft statistics but the percentage has been dropping, which means more theft incidents are away from the retail sections of the district and more often appearing in our neighborhoods. Caution is always necessary and attention to keeping doors locked, garage doors closed, wariness of strangers, and a willingness to keep a watchful eye for ourselves and our neighbors is always the best course.
 
Although there were no incidents reported in District 1, Garland made the news lately because a number of Hispanic families received racist and threatening letters. Police investigators responded immediately to the reports. The letters were mailed from Fort Worth but there is no reason to suspect anyone except a person familiar with one Garland neighborhood.
 
The City Council passed a resolution once again affirming our community's united stand against racism and prejudice. Garland is a very diverse community of which no race or ethnic group is in the majority. In truth, Garland is exemplary in tolerance and cooperativeness among all groups and one of the few communities that celebrates its diversity with a Community Multicultural Commission that works to always keep communications open and to celebrate our many heritages. Incidents of this type are so rare that we make the news when there are.
 
As a community, we will not turn an eye toward such prejudice or threats of violence. We will use our very capable and extensive resources to protect our citizens from such threats. We all want to enjoy our homes and our community without fear of crime or prejudice and the Garland Police Dept and city administration are committed to that goal.
 
Anyone receiving such a letter or having information on the letters already received are asked to contact the Garland Police Dept.
 
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. If you are a Garland resident reading this but do not live in District 1, you can get reports for your area here on the Police Department's website or from your Council member. [Online report shows one incident more than the table below but one incident reported as being in District 1 actually was not.]
 

 
The Garland Police Dept has made it even easier to see where and what type of crimes have occurred: information can now be accessed through www.CrimeReports.com. If the data doesn't seem to appear, "zoom in" further. Not all types of incidents reported are shown on the maps.