• Neighborhood Watch Meeting October 2018

The topic for the October 30, 2018 Neighborhood Watch meeting was Identity Theft and Mail Theft. I'll include the 57 minute video of the meeting for you to watch at your leisure. (video link)

This meeting was a "block captains" meeting, and it was opened to everyone in Wildomar and Lake Elsinore. I counted twenty-one people in attendance.

Investigators Brandon Cardinale(R) and Jeremy Klemp(L) led the hour long meeting.

The bullet points from the meeting included: 
  •  Sign up for "informed delivery" (a free service from the post office that lets you see what is to be delivered ahead of time)

Link to informed delivery

  •  If out of town, put a hold on your mail with the post office. (This can be done online)

  •  Bring in your mail every day

  •  If your mail is stolen:

        •  Immediately run a credit report
        •  File a report with BOTH the post office and law enforcement
        •  Immediately run a credit report
  •  If you are a victim of identity theft:
        •  get all the information you can from your credit card company so that you can give it to the police. If you wait for the investigators to serve search warrants, it could slow the case down by several weeks to several months.
        •  Freeze your credit (consider doing this before you're a victim)
  •  Shred your junk mail (at least the part with your name on it)
  •  If you fell for an international scam, use the website called IC3 (Internet Crime Complaint Center)

  •  Holiday season means an increase in package theft
  •  Run your credit information at least once a year
  •  Be a "good witness"
        •  This can't be overstressed. If you see a crime, in addition to calling and reporting it, you need to be able to describe what it is you saw. Full descriptions of people, places and vehicles will make the chances of catching the perps a better bet.

Below is the contact info for our local investigators.

If there are misspellings, it's on them.

Much of the above is basic common sense stuff, but the crime rate suggests that many people aren't employing enough of it at any one given time. We can't prevent all crime, but by avoiding things that make us more of a target will go a long way in reducing the chances of being a victim.

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Quality is not an act, it is a habit.
– Aristotle

Wildomar Rap can't act its way out of a wet paper bag.

This blog was produced for viewing on a desktop or a laptop. Though it's been optimized for smartphones, the formatting can look odd on a smartphone or if you get this delivered through email (such as missing video links). Link to proper format.

• Community Meeting: Homelessness

It was a packed house. I counted more than 55 residents that attended the community meeting about homeless issues in Wildomar. Also in the building were five members of RSO (Riverside Sheriff's Office) and 8 people that are part of the city.

Mayor Ben Benoit addresses the full house.

The meeting started with Mayor Ben Benoit welcoming the attendees then turning it over to Wildomar's Chief of Police, Captain Dan Anne for a few moments and then Deputy Robert Glaser began his presentation about local homeless issues.

I'll include the entire 2 hour meeting in two different videos. The first will be the presentation, and the second will be the questions and answers. Links at the bottom of the blog.

Instead of trying to break down the entire meeting let me sum it up in a couple of paragraphs and bullet points instead.

I thought it was a very productive meeting and a good step in getting the word out about how to deal with this problem. 

First and foremost: DO NOT GIVE FOOD OR MONEY to the homeless, you're only perpetuating the problem and usually making it worse. If you'd like to help the homeless, then please donate your time or money to a vetted charity.

If you see a crime: Report it, call it in.
In order to "have a crime" there must be a victim. If you don't call it in, then the police can't get involved. Even if it's after the fact, and the perp can't be found, you need to call it in. It helps the police track trends in offenses and can help later on to prevent repetitions in the future.

If you don't report it, it's the same as it never having happened.

If you see someone trespassing (homeless encampments) call it in. Be a "good witness" and have some details ready to share with the dispatcher.

Don't put yourself in danger. Which would include NOT taking pictures if there is a chance that you will then become the target of someone's rage. If you can take a photo of the situation, great, but don't put yourself, or your family in danger; it's just property.

Don't wait to report suspicious activity.

It was stressed over and over during the meeting: 
Do not give them money.

If you ever visit a beach town that has a pier you'll see the sign that says "Don't feed the pigeons" (please don't be a blockhead and think anyone is comparing humans to birds) but the nature of creatures (including humans) is to follow the path of least resistance. 

This issue reminds me of a famous movie quote.

If we are making it easy for homeless people to live here, they will live here and more will come once word gets out that we are a welcoming city.

Say no to panhandlers.

Interesting to learn, according to the presentation, that Starbucks (as a corporation) has taken the stance that they will allow homeless people to remain in their stores. Pretty lame move in my book. 

Donate to a non-profit instead of giving money to homeless people.

Below is a video of the first part of the meeting. Sorry Mayor Ben, my camera wasn't in record position until your part was over, but I appreciated the shout out just the same. ☺

The sound quality is meh. If it were up to me, I'd make sure that microphones were used at all meetings... but so far, I haven't been asked my thoughts on the matter. Still, you get the full meeting as it transpired... less the opening that is.

I'd already seen most of Officer Glaser's presentation before, so I was most interested in the Question & Answer portion, which actually ended up being longer than the presentation. Full 1 hour and 7 minute video is below.


Many issues were brought up, and it was easy to see how passionate many in the audience were on this matter.

• The first was from the owners of the Clinton Keith McDonald's. They've been trying to get the panhandlers away from their business since the beginning. 

"I don't want to lose business, but if I had small children, and I [were to] see some of those people outside, I wouldn't want to go in there."

It was a fascinating part of the meeting. It basically kicks off in the first 10 seconds of the video at the bottom of the blog.

• Discussion of the mysterious white van that is said to drop of homeless people. It's half urban myth and half truth on some level. (Click this link to jump to that part of the video)

• Next notable item was how one abandoned home in The Farm has been used as a flop house, and the out of state owner is ok with it. Talk about a stunning thing to have to put up with. (This topic starts at the 18:00 mark of the video)

• Regarding a recently broken up homeless encampment near Inland Valley Medical Center and Wildomar code enforcement officer Keith Ross's response, use this link to get to the 24:10 mark of the video.

• Mayor Pro-Tem Marsha Swanson spoke on the issue at the 25:15 mark. She pointed out that 41% of the total Wildomar budget goes to police services. 

• Councilmember Bridgette Moore recapped the efforts that the city is undertaking and asked the residents to do their part too. "You've heard tonight that the city is doing something [about homelessness], you've heard that SWAG is doing something. So now I think it's also [fair to ask] what is everyone else going to do. How are you going to help us, because it's a team effort." Click this link to jump to the 43:30 mark where her comments can be located.

• Councilmember Tim Walker spoke next, telling people that this started with Prop 47, and urged people to complain to Sacramento. "Call the Governor's office, let those guys know 'we're ticked off here' with prop 47." His full comments begin right after Bridgette Moore, at the 44:54 mark.

• Last on the highlight reel is SWAG (Social Work Action Group). They are a new Non-Profit that is working in our region. To date they've helped 108 homeless people off the street in our region, of which 68 have stayed off the streets.

I have an appointment with SWAG to do a comprehensive blog about them next week (Thanks Silvia for helping get that on the calendar ☺). Until then, watch their part of the video which begins at the 47:20 mark.

Wildomar Rap opinion time

I'm sure that you've heard the old saying, "It's a marathon, not a sprint."

Homelessness takes it to a new level. It's not even a marathon (something that can be accomplished in half a day), it's more like a career. 

There have always been homeless people, the big difference is the approach that society and government have taken to them.

In the past, we didn't tolerate criminal bands of trespassers that are now called "homeless people". Look at the facts, there is a huge difference between people "down on their luck" that can't make ends meet, and the criminals that would have been in jail if not for several misguided state propositions and new laws that have made this situation explode out of control.

Eventually the pendulum will swing back, but I don't see that on the near horizon.

As Deputy Glaser put it, "Elections have consequences" so know what it is you're voting for before casting that ballot.

In the meantime, DO NOT ADD TO THE MESS by handing out money to panhandlers. If you see something suspicious, report it, and be a "good witness" with descriptions of the person and the crime.

Video of the Question & Answer portion is below.

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If stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out?.
– Will Rogers

Wildomar Rap is confident that the other famous WR never encountered the type of stupidity that has been free flowing from Sacramento for the last couple of generations.

This blog was produced for viewing on a desktop or a laptop. Though it's been optimized for smartphones, the formatting can look odd on a smartphone or if you get this delivered through email (such as missing video links). Link to proper format.

• Neighborhood Watch Meeting: Homeless Issues

The most recent neighborhood watch block captains meeting had a presentation about homeless issues. Something that is an increasing problem, not only for Wildomar and the region of SWRivCo, but the state and the nation too. 

Officer Robert Glaser leads the meeting centered on homelessness.

First thing to remember is that being homeless is not against the law.

The next thing you should keep in mind is that your compassion, if you're the type that wants to give money, food, clothes or even water to the homeless, makes YOU part of the problem in 2018.

Many well intentioned people give money to the homeless, but as it was stated by officer Robert Glaser, "Stop handing out money." 

He went on to say that if you'd like to help, which is a good and noble idea, then donate to local charities that are working in unison with local authorities and using current methods of approaching the homeless issue. 

Have you heard of this?

A well known scam is where a woman will parade out small children in order to induce you to give her money, or even diapers (which are then just taken to Walmart for a refund). 

These are NOT homeless people. 

According to the information at the meeting, they are Gypsies that come in from Orange County. They often drive up in a high end car, then get into their "homeless" appearance/costume and proceed to make many hundreds of dollars.

This is not only a scam, it's illegal, and when caught the children are turned over to CPS. If you see mothers using their children in such a way, be strong, and don't give them anything. Call the police instead.

In the past, providing food, clothing and small amounts of money was a good approach, but those days are gone, and most of today's chronic homeless aren't cut from the same cloth as those 10 years ago.

A startling statistic that I heard involved homeless vets. The stat given on legitimate claims of being a homeless vet was estimated to be about 10%. That means, 90% are lying to you when they say they're a homeless vet.

Officer Glaser knows the homeless in our area, most by name, and he estimates that there are about 150 between Lake Elsinore, Wildomar and the unincorporated areas. When I asked him the number in Wildomar, he said it was around 15.

After the meeting I showed officer Glaser this photo I'd taken the other day in the Stater Bros parking lot. He immediately recognized him and said, "That's Mark. He recently lost his wife".

A new non profit that is dealing with the homeless issue, that is working hand in hand with the local cities, is known a The SWAG (Social Work Action Group). I have a request into them to do a "Better Know A Local Charity" blog and hope to have that ready in the next few weeks. 

Other things to remember:
Don't enter any homeless encampments on your own. The police are trained for such situations and are armed and usually have back up. In addition to physical dangers from confronting people on "their" turf, you could also be exposed to hazardous things like Hepatitis C.

The meeting had plenty of other concerns raised; such as property crimes.

It may seem simple, but it was reiterated over and over, if you see something suspicious, call it it. 

The nonemergency number to call is 951-776-1099. You should add this to your phone so you can use it if necessary.

You want to make your home less of a target. Don't do things that will invite burglars to think your home is an easy target. It was said that if you get a new TV, break up the box and put it into the trash where it's not advertising that you just made a new purchase to passersby. 

A key factor that was stressed by the officers was: DON'T JUST "REPORT" IT ON FACEBOOK.

Though they do look at some of the local facebook pages, they don't monitor them. If you're having an issue, call the police first, and post on social media last (if ever).

It was also suggested that you can call your city council member to report issues too.

Something I hadn't really thought of before was what constitutes a crime? If someone slashes your tires, and you don't report it, it is NOT considered a crime. Oh sure, you were done wrong, but legally speaking, it's only a crime if you report it.

This patch is on the sleeves of those contracted to patrol Wildomar.

Another nugget of brilliance I mined from the meeting about social media was when you see discussion of an alleged crime in your area, ask them if they've contacted the police yet, and what's the status of the investigation. 

More than one example of a serious crime, that was bandied about on local facebook pages, was shared by the attendees to the officers in the room.

Incidents that were said to have happened the previous Friday night. Things that would have gotten a priority 1 status and therefore would have been known throughout the station.

The officers drew a blank on the claims. Things that were melting some of the facebook pages, apparently didn't even get called in. 

If you're witnessing a crime, call 911 and report it. Facebook may be a place to get likes, but it's not the place to flag down a first responder.

It may be hard to believe that people would post erroneous info on a topic so important as public safety, but it happens all the time. Most often such posts come with noble intentions, but as a thread grows, often the details can get distorted and take on "facts" that aren't actually facts.

Use this link to visit the Wildomar Rap facebook page.

Some of you may know that I'm running for city council, and that Wildomar will be having a measure on the ballot asking the voters to approve a one cent sales tax increase. The council has earmarked this potential money for public safety, roads and code enforcement.

Districts 1,3 and 5 will be on the ballot this year.

How will you be voting on it?

I've never met a person that likes taxes, but I've also met very few people that don't want (demand) better services in Wildomar. 

The average person here wants our community to be safe(r), and we currently can only afford sheriff services that are at the 2011 levels (that's WITH the $2M in VLF funds restored to the budget that had been taken since 2011), our population has increased by 3,000 people since then. 

As it was, the 2011 levels weren't what they should have been for a population the size of Wildomar.

If we want better, we are going to have to pay for it. One of the allures that Wildomar had when we were unincorporated was the lower tax rates compared to areas like Murrieta and Temecula.

Well, we do pay lower tax rates, and it's very obvious too. Again, we all loath taxes, but we all seem to want the first responders to be top notch, even if we don't budget for top notch... not to mention roads and other amenities too.

Anyone else see the disconnect here?

If we want to talk about ancient history, the run up to Wildomar's incorporation, I wasn't in favor of becoming a city. Even with my eyes closed, I could see that we didn't have the tax base to properly pull it off. 

Other cities have big ticket items like car dealerships, big box stores (and not just one called Walmart), they may have big entertainment draws (like an old town, wineries, movie theaters, Dave & Busters, etc) that bring in tax dollars.

Wildomar has none of that. 

Our big ticket item is basically wrapped up in our eight gas stations, and the smattering of restaurants we have. 

Again, that's all ancient history, and we are a city now, and there's no reason to think that'll ever change. Time to move forward, but that takes a bigger budget than was originally forecast when we became a city.

At the neighborhood watch meeting, we learned about Lake Elsinore's POP Team (Problem Oriented Policing) and sanctioned citizen patrols they have there. If we'd like such things in Wildomar, we are going to have to pay for them.

When asked my opinion on the coming ballot measure, asking for an increase in local sales tax, I tell people to vote their conscience. If they are dead set against taxes (I'm generally in that camp) then vote against the measure. 

Just do so knowing that you will also be voting to keep public safety measures at a barebones minimum with little actual hope of increasing coverage.

There was a recent 5%-7% increase in costs associated with Wildomar's police coverage... just because... aka inflation. 

The same principle applies to the gas tax repeal: Prop 6. 

I love the idea of letting Sacramento know how disgusted we are with their incessant desires to raise our taxes. 

We already pay too much in this state!

I get it and concur, but again, just remember... a vote to repeal the gas tax, is actually a vote to keep Wildomar's failing roads from any chance of improvement in the foreseeable future. 

The legislature set it up that way, and if we repeal their 2017 pride and joy, known as SB1, they will be looking to punish us, especially so in SoCal. Just brace yourself for that reality if it gets repealed.

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If you cannot bite, never show your teeth.
– Chinese Proverb

Wildomar Rap suggests not bearing your teeth even if you can deliver a rather impressive bite. Everyone loves surprises. ☺

This blog was produced for viewing on a desktop or a laptop. Though it's been optimized for smartphones, the formatting can look odd on a smartphone or if you get this delivered through email (such as missing video links). Link to proper format.

• Neighborhood Watch: RAID

Tonight's Neighborhood Watch meeting was dealing with auto theft.

There was about an hour's presentation by the county RAID team: 

Riverside Auto-Theft Interdiction Detail.

The first thing I noticed when we got to the parking lot was that there were some tough looking hombres lurking about. We made a beeline to the front door of City Hall and was relieved to see a uniformed officer. Those toughs were going to have to behave themselves now.

Oh wait, those big bad men were actually on our payroll. They were undercover officers that work the car theft detail. I figured it wasn't a good idea to photograph them, so I did a hasty sketch to give you a rough idea.

Investigator JJ Rodriguez and Detective Moll. 

Investigator JJ Rodriguez was the average size man while Detective Norbert Moll looked like Grizzly Adams, after forgetting to shave for an additional 3 years while pumping iron almost as often as he visited the tattoo parlor. He has to play the roll of badass convincingly... I was convinced, and he knows he's doing something right when ladies clutch their purses and men cross the street as he approaches.

The powerpoint presentation covered a lot of things that most of us wouldn't consider in the world of stolen cars and chop shops.

Detective Moll  broke down the stats this way. 31 chop shops a year is 3 a month. 403 arrests is more than one a day. This is from their task force, not just the overall auto theft stats in the county.

The key takeaway points from the meeting include:

• Don't leave your car running unattended, even if it's in your driveway.
• Mid '90s Hondas are the easiest to steal.
• Be wary of car deals that are too good to be true. Craigslist is just one place that can have ads for hot cars. Caveat Emptor (buyer beware) should be your motto no matter where you're making the purchase.
• Don't buy anything of value from a person that won't show you their ID.
• When buying a car (or other high dollar item), use your smart phone to take a picture of the seller's ID.
• When buying a used car, suggest that the transaction take place in the local police station parking lot.
• If you come across a chopped car, don't touch it. Call it in. If it's in a rural area, use your smart phone to get the GPS location to give the police.
• Painted over, or removed, ID numbers on heavy equipment, or a boat, is a bad sign.
• Don't hesitate to report suspicious activity. Call the none emergency number.
• Be careful when dealing with car thieves. If you suspect something, let the police handle it.

In response to one person speaking about taking a picture of a license plate of a suspected car thief, detective Moll replied:

Be careful. I'm glad that you're filled with piss and vinegar, and you're ready to do battle, but when we were doing the storefront (undercover operation) and were dealing with car thieves on a regular basis, they also had guns, they had drugs, they had done prior crimes... shooting people, stabbing people... these guys are criminals as living.

• RAID task force has 10 members for all of Riverside County (once you discount supervisors).
• Lojack is a good device to recover a stolen vehicle. 
• Don't leave garage door openers in cars that you park outside. For the ultra cautious, you may consider taking the door opener with you when out shopping, dining, the movies, etc. Some brazen thieves will break into your car just to get your opener. Once they get your address from your car registration, they can have easy access to your house with the opener.
• The Club is a good deterrent for random car thefts.
• Tracking devices can be purchased for about  $150 that can be hardwired into your cars.
• Soon the RAID task force will be starting up a facebook page.
• It's good to use social media (FaceBook, Nextdoor App) to keep up with what's happening locally.

Investigator Rodriguez related a story about a local theft of some heavy construction equipment. 

The location of the heavy equipment sounded like it was at, or near, the Subway construction area off of Bundy Canyon during early phases of construction. It was a Saturday and the perp got dressed in construction vest and helmet, sauntered onto the property, acted like he belonged there. Fired up the tractor and drove it from the site to his home on the east side of the freeway. His intentions were to finish the work on his property and then return the equipment by Sunday evening, but didn't finish in time. On Monday morning the workers discovered that the tractor was stolen and reported it. It had Lojack and they tracked it and found the thief using it. He admitted to the theft.

←•→

If I can make a suggestion to the fine people that are organizing these Neighborhood Watch meetings it would be this: Please prepare a Wildomar specific report, and let's have a brief question and update about our specific area. I enjoyed the information from the first meeting (Gangs and Drugs) and the presentation by RAID on auto theft was good info too, but I think it would be much appreciated to get to the active local concerns as much, or more, than the prepared info.

The meetings are quarterly and the next one will be in September.

Use the Non-Emergency number 951-776-1099 to report suspicious activity and NOT the emergency 911 number. If you see something out of place, they want you to call and report it.

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And now my friend, the first-a rule of Italian driving.

[rips off his rear-view mirror and throws it out of the car]

What's-a behind me is not important.

 — Franco Bertollini, Gumball Rally, 1976

Wildomar Rap remembers fondly the elderly security guard that was guarding the new construction site where we used to play pick up baseball games (1978). The problem was that our home runs would end up in his yard and he eventually got tired of us (we were hitting more homers than the major leaguers at the height of the steroids era). Tip o' the cap to Chogie.

• Neighborhood Watch Meeting

Wildomar had it's first neighborhood watch meeting, it was in the city council chambers. Well, there have been other such meeting in the past, just not in Wildomar. Past meetings had been held at the Sheriff's station in Lake Elsinore. The room was more than 90% full.

Jim Brown has been volunteering for this program the last nine years and called the meeting to order and introduced Officers Salcedo, Baca, Coates and Vega.

From left to right. Officer Coates, Officer Vega, Jim Brown, Officer Baca, Officer Salcedo.

There was a power point presentation dealing with local gangs and drugs. 

A couple of tidbits about tagging I thought I'd pass along:

• If you suspect that your child might be mixed up in a "tagging crew" check their notebooks. Often they will practice their tags by way of doodling. They may even tag the underside of the brim of their hats. 
• If witnessed call police dispatch and notify the city.

A look at the 4 neighborhood watch zones in W'mar

The meeting was opened to all, but it was intended for existing block captains. So, from my perspective, it felt a little like showing up in mid November to a class that started back in September. 

After the meeting, which lasted an hour, I went up to officer Salcedo and told him I was expecting some more basic information, things like "How not to be the next George Zimmerman." 

He reminded me that it had been intended for block captains but they also have meetings where the basics are covered too. 

In the end the key bit of info I took away from the meeting was:

"Do not put yourself in harms way!"

Keeping your cars locked and valuables out of sight is important. Though some cars will still be broken into, many low level criminals are happy to just break into unlocked cars. Keeping the doors to your homes locked and your garage door down when unattended helps too.

Use the Non-Emergency number 951-776-1099 to report suspicious activity and NOT the emergency 911 number. If you see something out of place, they want you to call and report it. The example that was given was a skateboarder at 3:00 in the morning. Something you know that is out of place and is causing you concern.

A website to visit is the National Neighborhood Watch site. (Click this link)

This sign in Windsong Valley has been battling
the Sun as much as it has been battling crime.

We've had several Neighborhood Watch signs in our neighborhood since we moved to Wildomar back in 2001. Thing is, other than on a local facebook page last year, I'd never actually heard about any meetings or how it worked.

In the long run you have to remember that this is supposed to be the neighborhood watching itself. So it's unrealistic to expect the city or the police to be the spearheads in such an operation. It's up to those of us on the front lines to put the effort in.

If we don't care, why should anyone else?

The next meeting is scheduled for June 11, 2015. Best way to keep up with knowing when meetings such as this are happening, is to sign up for email alerts from the city's website. (Click this link)

Also mentioned was something called the Nextdoor App that helps keep neighbors in the loop for things going on in their neighborhood. I signed up, but since I still cling to my flip phone, I'll have to access it with my laptop. Take a look at it and see if it makes since for you to create an account. If you have facebook, then it's pretty easy to use that as a gateway to sign in there.

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We live in a world that has narrowed into a neighborhood before it has broadened into a brotherhood. — Lyndon Johnson

Wildomar Rap tip of the day... sardines straight from the can are actually pretty good, and yes, that includes the whole ones too.