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MVCPA Taskforce Grant Negotiation
<br />https://mvcpa.tamu. edu/Negotiation/TFGPrintApplication.asp?App]D=225 &
<br />The Northeast Texas Auto Theft Task Force was established in the early 1990's. The multi jurisdictional Task Force is currently
<br />comprised of two participating law enforcement agencies that include Paris Police Department and Lamar County and wished to add
<br />Hopkins County and New Boston Police Department this year if funded. There are currently two full time criminal investigators
<br />assigned to the multi jurisdictional Task Force, dedicating 100% of their time as Task Force Investigators with two more being added.
<br />These Investigators are licensed Texas Peace Officers. The Task Force serves a large 10 county coverage area to answer calls for
<br />assistance that is mainly rural in composition. The population within the 10 counties is 509,352 (2020 US Census) and there are
<br />541,426 registered vehicles (2022 DMV). The coverage area is comprised of five counties that border Oklahoma. Task Force
<br />Detectives maintain a good working relationship with Oklahoma Authorities (Choctaw Co, Bryan Co, McCurtain Co, Oklahoma
<br />Highway Patrol, and Choctaw Tribal Police) to help recover stolen vehiclea4railers transported out of Texas into Oklahoma. The
<br />Northeast Texas Auto Theft Task Force is currently made up of investigators who have been recently assigned to the Task Force;
<br />however, they have years of experience as licensed Texas Peace Officers within their communities. This allows the Task Force
<br />Investigators to develop and maintain professional relationships with law enforcement, industry, citizens, and business owners. Task
<br />Force Investigators devote the majority of their time to the detection, investigation, recovery of stolen vehicles, and the arrest of
<br />vehicle crimes suspects. Task Force Investigators are also involved in prevention of vehicle related crimes by participating in
<br />community events, National Nights Out, distributing literature, and conducting 68-A inspections. Task Force Investigators routinely
<br />make efforts to reduce the sale of stolen vehicles and parts by alerting the public to current criminal schemes as well as conducting
<br />business inspections of used car lots, metal recyclers, and salvage yards. Task Force Investigators work directly with our local Tax
<br />Offices and are often called upon to assist them. Task Force investigators set up booths at public events to educate the public on how
<br />to prevent auto theft and deter burglary of motor vehicles. Coverage area Law Enforcement agencies know there are Task Force
<br />Investigators that can be called at any time to assist with vehicle crimes and do call frequently.
<br />1.2 Describe the tskforce governing, organization and command structures. Include a description of the nature of support and
<br />agreements that will be in place if the grant is awarded. Provide any details unique to the taskforce organization or geographical
<br />target area. Describe whether any part of this grant will be directed to serve a specific target population (or subset of the community)?
<br />The Northeast Texas Auto Theft Task Force is currently a two-man task force covering a (10) ten county coverage area, with two
<br />additional investigators being added if funded. The City of Paris Detective - Task Force Commander - is supervised by the City of
<br />Paris Criminal Investigation Division which consists of a Captain, Detective Lieutenant, and a Detective Sergeant. The Task Force
<br />Commander reports directly to the Detective Lieutenant who monitors the daily activities, and reports to the Criminal Investigation
<br />Division Captain. The Lamar County Detective will be directly supervised by the Chief Deputy who reports to the Sheriff of Lamar
<br />County. The Hopkins County Detective will report to the Chef Deputy. The New Boston Police Department Detective will report to the
<br />New Boston CiD. Each investigator will be assigned cases through their respective departments. Each Investigator will be assigned
<br />specific counties outside the project area to respond to calls for assistance and to conduct inspections and presentations, however, all
<br />Investigators are able to respond where needed and jointly work cases from each other's home agencies as needed. Cases
<br />originating from coverage area locations requesting to be investigated by the task force will be assigned to task force investigators on
<br />a case by case basis. Much of our coverage area counties are rural, with few investigators with little to no specialized training for auto
<br />related crimes. All participating agencies will sign an inter -local agreement. The Task Force will obtain letters of support from Sheriffs
<br />Offices, municipalities, tax assessors, and Texas Rangers. An agreement with the Lamar County District Attorney's Office will be in
<br />effect so that seized funds may be retained by the Northeast Texas Auto Theft Task Force. There is no intent to serve a specific target
<br />population.
<br />Grant Problem Statement
<br />2.1 Provide an assessment of the burglary from a motor vehicle (including theft of parts) problem in the coverage area of this application.
<br />Include loss data consistent with the reported incident numbers above.
<br />The Northeast Texas Auto Theft Task Force coverage area includes 10 counties and all the municipalities within those counties. The
<br />combined population for the 10 counties is 509,352 according to the 2020 US Census with 541,426 registered vehicles (2022 DMV).
<br />According to the State's supplemental data in NIBRS, these agencies reported a combined total of 1053 Vehicle Burglaries and 349
<br />Vehicle Parts Thefts in 2021. The combined value of stolen property for 2021 was $2,108,255. They reported a combined total of 895
<br />Vehicle Burglaries and 256 Vehicle Parts Thefts in 2022. The combined value of stolen property for 2022 was $1,418,683
<br />The Task Force has found that most vehicle burglaries occur in large apartment complexes and neighborhoods with many houses and
<br />vehicles in close proximately to each other. We have found that the majority of these burglaries occur on vehicles that were left
<br />unlocked and easily accessible. We have found that these crimes increase during the summer months when schools are out of
<br />session. Juveniles commit the majority of our local vehicle burglaries during late night and early morning hours. We have found a
<br />large group of juveniles will be dropped off in a neighborhood and then they will walk the neighborhood checking for doors left
<br />unlocked. They will commit the burglaries and then be picked up by a vehicle and go to another neighborhood. Occasionally while
<br />committing the burglaries, the suspects will locate the vehicle keys inside the vehicle and then steal the car; either using it to joyride or
<br />commit further crimes during the night. Often times, victims are leaving their firearms in their vehicles, which are then stolen, and
<br />either sold illegally or used to commit violent crimes. Often times, the victims will not only have their property stolen, they will fall
<br />victim to identify theft as well. The suspects will steal wallets and purses left in the vehicles, which contain identification cards, social
<br />security cards, and debit/credit cards. A victim may have hundreds of thousands of dollars racked up on their accounts due to this.
<br />Occasionally, the victim will later found accounts have been opened in their name due to the suspects having all their personal
<br />information from the burglary. Victims now are not only faced with the loss of their property, but also having to deal with someone
<br />stealing their identity and wreaking havoc on their credit.
<br />2.2 Provide an assessment of the motor vehicle theft problem in the coverage area of this application. Include loss data consistent with
<br />the reported incident numbers above.
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