East Austin Neighborhood Crime Analysis Uncovers Hotspot Area; Prompts Public Safety Concerns

8/12/2020

Chief Scoop Blogger, The #PZNA Neighborhood Nose

This chart reviews three nearby intersections off E. 7th street using the same 2000 ft query and timeframe. Noteworthy: E. 7th St & Chicon closer to downtown only had 43 more citations. Still, E. 7th St. & Pleasant Valley leads with the most aggravated assaults, burglaries and part II crimes.

CRIME ANALYSIS – 2,000 FT RADIUS/PERIMETER FROM EAST 7th/PLEASANT VALLEY INTERSECTION

Some 1110 crime citations were recorded within a 2,000 ft radius/perimeter of the East 7th Street and Pleasant Valley Road intersection during a two-year period from June 2018 through July 2020.

The following streets were included within the area: 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, Allen, Calles, Castro, Coronado, Diaz, Fiesta, Francisco, Garwood, Gonzales, Halcyon, Hidalgo, Lindon, Lyons, Northwestern, Pace, Pedernales, Pleasant Valley, Prado, Ramos, San Baba, Santa Rosa, Tillery, Webberville and Zaragosa.

Not all types of crime are reviewed in this analysis below. With exception of Family Disturbance on page 3, the other 11 categories included in this report cover life threatening intent, theft of property and/or drug related. They are as follows:
•       Robbery by Assault
•       Aggravated Assault
•       Assault with Injury
•       Assault by Contact
•       Gun related
•       Burglary Breaking & Entering
•       Drug related
•       Alcohol related
•       Criminal Mischief
•       Theft
•       Auto Theft

Since mid-2017, an increase of criminal behavior has been observed near the East 7th Street Bridge and Pleasant Valley Road intersection, where the HEB shopping Center, Citgo Gas Station, Cepeda Library Branch, Parque Zaragoza Neighborhood Park and Sonic are located. During this time, homeless camps have resettled several times within a few hundred feet from Parque Zaragoza as well as from under bridges on Castro and Prado Streets (over Boggy Creek) increasing the population of one camp located at the underpass of the East 7th Street bridge east of Pleasant Valley Road (but before Tillery Street). Nearby residents, community resources and local businesses have been impacted in negative, sometimes harmful or violent ways.

Out of 1110 citations issued from June 25, 2018 through July 23, 2020, 55% occurred on East 7th Street, Gonzales Street or Pleasant Valley Road where the homeless camp resides and conducts daily activities. To further break this down: 401 of 1110 (36%) were on East 7th Street, 89 out of 1110 (8%) were on Gonzales Street and 119 of 1110 (11%) were on Pleasant Valley Rd.

The 4-page report includes several charts including a breakdown of all streets in the 2000 ft area and measures six crime categories amongst them. Click the button below to read the complete report.

**All data provided from City of Austin Police Department Crime Viewer GIS Tool https://www.austintexas.gov/GIS/CrimeViewer

read complete crime report

1 Comment

Chief Scoop Blogger

I'm Jackson Papillon, an East Austin Parque Zaragoza Neighborhood [#PZNA] Canine. I have a good nose for news and will cover two regular beats:
1) Poop Scoop - Any crap stinking up our neighborhood the community should be aware of.
2) Best Sniffs - Newbies and new things happening in our area.
Email your scoops to parquezaragozana@gmail.com

A Voice for the Parque Zaragoza Community

We are dedicated to bringing our community together through park activities, returning cherished, old traditions, as well as creating new ones. We are committed to the preservation of Parque Zaragoza’s legacy to tell its story for generations to come. And we believe our park’s story is just getting started. In the tradition of the community advocates before, we believe Parque Zaragoza Neighborhood Park is a place of celebration and unity."

"The guiding belief of the Parque Zaragoza Neighborhood Alliance is that the combination of neighborhood heritage and smart, sustainable, respectful development is required to provide a rich, safe and rewarding environment that can be enjoyed by all neighborhood residents."

Joni

10/7/2020 01:48:06 pm

Is there any way to get more police presence at the parque Zaragoza recreation center? In the past 2 weeks there are new individuals present and hanging out directly in front of the center after it closes. All night they are loud, playing music, fighting, yelling, and trashing the entire street of Gonzales St. As a resident they are now going into yards during the daytime when residents are at work and stealing items from yards. There is once again a large drug traffic ring taking place all day and night. Random cars are parking in the neighborhood and wait for individuals to come from the camp area and approach their vehicle to purchase drugs. This is occurring all day and night into the early morning hours. There are even individuals that are not homeless that park in the parking area of the rec center and sell drugs from their vehicle. I am a long time resident and I have never seen my neighborhood get this bad! It is sad to see all the beautification projects being done in the community but residents can not use them or benefit from them.