HPD Mobile Crime Unit Pays Off

The Houston Police Department's new mobile crime unit, known as U-Net (for Unified Neighborhood Enhancement Team) is making a real impact on neighborhood crime. For example, just last night it was parked...

... across the street from an apartment complex where three shotgun-carrying robbers held up three men at 3:30 a.m. One of the men was beaten.

The crime victims spotted the mobile police unit and ran there for help.

U-Net had only been parked in that location for about 12 hours when the crime happened. [snip]

The gunmen got away with jewelry, money and a car stereo.

Apparently the fact that the highly visible HPD-RV was sitting just outside did not make much of an impact on the perpetrators, and the officers on duty inside the unit somehow failed to notice the "three shotgun-carrying robbers" nearby.

The big money quote from the news report:

The mobile unit was launched as a high-profile deterrent to crime in high-crime areas.

I hope HPD kept the receipt.


Hat-tip: Owen Courreges of LST