Around the Arch Blog

Today, Secret Witness unveiled an anonymous texting program that will provide residents another means to report tips to help solve crimes.

Secret Witness has partnered with the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, Reno Police Department, Sparks Police Department, and Carson City Sheriff’s Office to bring our residents the first texting tip line.

“In addition to the Secret Witness anonymous telephone tip line 322-4900, which has served the greater Truckee Meadows to help solve crimes for more than 30 years, a new tip texting program provides the same service to meet the needs of the electronic and texting age,” said Katherine Loudon, Chairwoman of Secret Witness.

 The program is designed for short-code texting and the texting operations may vary from phone to phone.

For all life threatening emergencies, call 911. The Tip Texting Program is not a 911 service, but merely another opportunity in addition to the telephone to provide anonymous tips to help solve crimes.

For details about the texting tip line click here.

The Reno Police Department, Washoe County Sheriffs Office, and the Washoe County School Police Department have been working together on the recent rash of Luring of Children Cases and have found two cases that have similarities and appear to have been committed by the same suspect.

On September 28, 2010 at about 3:30 PM a seventeen year old girl reported to the Reno Police Department that a male suspect exited his vehicle and physically grabbed her and hugged her. This incident happened in the area of Holcomb and South Virginia St. in Reno . The suspect was described as: an Hispanic Male, 25 years of age, 5-06 165 lbs., muscular build, dark brown hair with a “buzz cut” , brown eyes, unshaven, wearing a faded black shirt that had “ I Need a Hug” written on it.

On September 29, 2010 at about 11:50 AM on Robb Drive near Walnut Creek an 18 year old girl was walking to school back from lunch when a male suspect matching the description of the above Reno Police Department case drove up next to her and tried to strike up a conversation and then asked her for a hug. The victim in this case also ran away from the suspect and then contacted Washoe County School Police.

In both of the cases the suspect is driving the following vehicle: Newer Black two door convertible, rounded corners on the rear of the vehicle, with chrome molding around the windows.

We would like to encourage all parents to continually discuss “stranger danger” safety tips with their children and report all suspicious activity immediately.

Anyone with information about these cases or any other attempted luring cases is encouraged to call the Reno Police Department at 334-2115, the Washoe County School Police at 348-0285 or Secret Witness at 322-4900.

Reno Police Department Case #10-25182
Washoe County School Police Case #2010-02011

The Reno City Council accepted $7,650 from the Washoe County Local Emergency Planning Committee from the 2011 State Emergency Response Commission United We Stand Grant to purchase self contained breathing apparatus units.

The Reno Police Department uses these breathing units for members of their SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) Team. With the grant, the department will have 15 units for their 30 member SWAT team.

The SWAT team duties include aiding in serving high-risk arrest warrants, performing hostage rescues, helping confront heavily-armed criminals and snipers, apprehending barricaded subjects, and assisting in proving peaceful resolutions. Standard patrol resources do not have the manpower, special training, or specialized equipment to handle some high risk situations.

The mission of the Reno Police Department’s SWAT team is to safely and effectively resolve a critical situation while minimizing injury or loss of life and property.

The Reno City Council accepted a $40,000 grant from the Nevada Department of Public Safety, Office of Criminal Justice Assistance to the Reno Police Department for the department’s Project Safe Neighborhood Program.

Project Safe Neighborhoods is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun and gang crimes in America by networking existing local programs that target these and providing these programs with additional tools necessary to be successful.

The State of Nevada has received $119,000 from the Federal government as part of the National Project Safe Neighborhoods Program of which the City of Reno has been awarded $40,000 to be used to focus on a particular neighborhood with additional enforcement and community clean-up.

Due to gang and crime problems, the neighborhood from Virbil Lane to Miguel Ribera Park has been chosen as the neighborhood for this grant.

The Reno Police Department, City Attorney’s Office, and Code Enforcement are working to improve the neighborhood by removing the gangs. They have put together a project based on Project T.O.U.G.H (Taking Out Urban Gang Headquarters) used by the City of Los Angeles. The Reno project uses the public nuisance ordinance and civil remedies to require property owners to address the nuisance of continual gang activities within their property areas. The program also provides for injunctive action prohibiting gang members from congregating within identified private properties. The Regional Gang Unit, with members from the Reno Police Department, Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, and Sparks Police Department, has also been providing enforcement for this project.

Since its inception in 2001, approximately $2 billion nationwide has been committed to Project Safe Neighborhoods. The funding has been used to hire new federal and state prosecutors, support investigators, provide training, distribute gun lock safety kits, deter juvenile gun crime, and develop and promote community outreach efforts as well as to support other gun and gang violence reduction strategies.

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Reno Fire Marshal Joan Presley issued a reminder today that the period for opening burning of vegetative materials within areas protected by the Reno Fire Department concluded on Friday, May 31.

Presley does suggest property owners consider non-burning techniques for vegetation management including composting and chipping vegetation.

The Reno Fire Department issues permits for open burning. Burning is only allowed during publicized open burn seasons. The open burn season generally begins March 1 and continues through the declaration of fire season.

If weather and fuel conditions permit, a short open burning period may be allowed later this month. Washoe County District Health Department Air Quality Regulations prohibit burning from November 1 through March 1.

Remember burning is allowed by permit only. For more information about obtaining a burn permit contact the Burn Permit Hotline at 775-328-3659 or visit www.reno.gov, select “Government,” then “Fire Department.”

Reno Fire Department investigators are seeking information regarding two potential persons of interest in an arson case.

On Wednesday, September 22, 2010 a structure fire occurred at an unoccupied residence at 1665 Bonneville Drive. Reno Fire investigators would like to talk to two males that were seen at approximately 8:00 p.m. near the address. The two males were driving a black or dark colored soft-top Jeep Wrangler.

Investigators are asking anyone with information about the individuals or the fire to contact the Secret Witness Program at 322-4900 where they can provide information anonymously, or fire investigators at 334-2300.

Area residents will be able to help the Reno Police Department’s K-9 Unit by dining at the Texas Roadhouse.

The Texas Roadhouse has generously agreed to donate 10% of food purchases to the Reno Police Department’s K-9 Unit when the attached flyer is presented to a server. To participate, visit the Texas Roadhouse at 150 Damonte Ranch Parkway on Sunday, September 12 from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Monday, September 13 from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Flyers can also be downloaded by visiting the K-9 Unit’s page on City of Reno’s website, http://www.reno.gov/index.aspx?page=2112.

The Reno Police Department’s K-9 Unit serves the community by working as a patrol support function. Officers and their K-9 partners assist with suspect apprehension, narcotics detection, finding articles of evidentiary value that have been discarded, tracking lost people such as children and Alzheimer’s patients, and explosive material detection. Additionally, the unit is called upon to conduct many public demonstrations to entities such as schools, churches and civic organizations.

The K-9 unit relies heavily on donations, and has been called upon to assist every agency in the area to include Sparks Police Department, Washoe County Sheriff’s Department, Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority, the U.S. Secret Service, F.B.I., D.E.A., U.S. Customs, California Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons, to name a few.

A $20,000 grant from the Nevada State Juvenile Justice Commission, approved by the Reno City Council on Wednesday, will be used for continued support of the Reno Police Department’s operations against underage drinking.

The grant funding will be used to conduct alcohol sales compliance checks and other law enforcement operations to reduce underage drinking which may include controlled juvenile party dispersal, fake identification checks, third party purchase intervention, juvenile DUI prevention/apprehension, and special events control.

The awarded grant does not require a match from local government and helps to offset law enforcement costs that would otherwise come from local government budgets.

On Wednesday, the Reno City Council accepted two $70,000 Justice Assistance Grants to the Reno Police Department to support the operations of the multi-jurisdictional gang unit and the narcotics prevention and enforcement program.

The federal grants are through the Nevada Department of Public Safety, Office of Criminal Justice through June 30, 2011. The grants do not require a match from local government and help to offset law enforcement costs that would otherwise come from local government budgets.

The cooperative law enforcement gang unit includes officers from the Reno Police Department, Washoe County Sheriff’s Department, Sparks Police Department and the Washoe County School District Police. The Regional Gang Unit focuses on known areas with high concentrations of gang members and gang activity, identifies and tracks the most active gang members responsible for the majority of gang activity and gang related crimes. The combined agency operations employ proactive enforcement methods in the areas recognized for gang membership and narcotics activities.

NV Energy employees in leadership and volunteer programs transformed rooms at the Reno Police Department into wonderful places for victims. The City’s Victim Advocates now have a place to interview victims and their families so they can provide services.
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