As the Gulfton Area Management District establishes long-running services in the neighborhood, its primary focus is public safety. To that end, the District has funded a new private security patrol program to augment the work of the Houston Police Department.
“We’re taking Gulfton back” from criminals, District Chairwoman Tammy Rodriguez told ABC13 news.
We also spoke to Sammy Malek, general manager of WE Security Inc., who shared his thoughts about the new service to the District by his employees. Here’s what he had to say:
HPD Chief Finner, District Chair Rodriguez
Q: When did the service start?
A; Aug. 4, 2022
Q: Which specific areas of the Gulfton community will the officers patrol?
A: Patrols will cover commercial properties and multifamily units that make up the Gulfton community.
Q: When was WE Security formed? Please provide background on the company and some details about the security officers?
A: Our company was formed in 2009 to provide professional and licensed armed and unarmed security guards for patrols, private investigations and personal protection services. Our officers are as diverse as our great city.
Q: What is your assessment of crime in the Gulfton community?
A: Although crimes of all types (were) on the increase since the start of the pandemic in 2020, we are seeing a slight decrease in crime in the last 12 months in the Gulfton District in homicides, robberies, sexual assaults, thefts, and assaults, which is great news for our community. We hope that it will continue to decline.
Q: What impact do you believe the new security patrol will have on reducing crime?
A: The presence of security is a great deterrent to any criminal activity. We are the eyes and ears of the community, patrolling 24/7, and on the lookout to prevent any unlawful activity.
Q: What relationship does WE Security have with the HPD? Will WE Security respond to HPD calls in the Gulfton community?
A: HPD has always and continues to provide our security officers on patrol the help they need. HPD Sgt. (Jose) Juarez has dealt with every task we had on our agenda swiftly and promptly and we are grateful for his effort as well as all the women and men in blue.
Q: What steps can the members of the community take to avoid being a victim of crime?
Malek: “Community policing” and neighbors looking out for each other, reporting suspicious activities or persons, is essential to reducing crime on the personal level. We must be aware of our surroundings until we get to safe zone, such as our home, our vehicle, a store, or office building. We can avoid being victimized by using common-sense safety rules that we can control.
Q: Are you looking forward to working with the new Gulfton Management District? Please elaborate.
Malek: Yes, very much so and I have personally felt from the last meeting I had with the (District) board how sincere and determined the district is in elevating the quality of life of the residents in the Gulfton community, which in turn will also impact the businesses and business owners and will increase investments in our district.
