Welcome to the Corpus Christi Police Virtual Ride Along. This is the opportunity for you to witness police activity in real-time from the comfort of home. Messages, pictures and information will be sent out on Twitter at the address @CorpusChristiPD. We encourage your participation, so please ask questions as you follow the program. Be aware that the officer will be driving and responding to police work, so be patient if there is a delay for response to questions.

The officer with which you will witness is Officer Kirk Stowers. Officer Stowers entered the police academy in May 2002 and served on patrol until his transfer to the Public Information Office in March 2012.

Officer Stowers will be a part of the Corpus Christi Police Holiday Initiative today. The Holiday Initiative is a project from the police department each year to provide extra patrols to the densely populated shopping areas in order to direct traffic, reduce crime, reduce the fear of crime, and to enhance public safety.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy the Virtual Ride Along!

Several Corpus Christi Police Officers delivered stuffed animals and “get well” cards to the children at the Driscoll Children’s hospital Friday morning, December 21.

The animals were donated to the police department and the officers delivered the animals to sick children in an effort to provide comfort as the children spend time away from home. The cards were signed by various areas of the police department which included patrol officers, dispatchers, administrative staff, and the chiefs of police.

The officers brought 30 stuffed animals and cards and visited with up to 25 patients at the hospital. The officers say they have a heart for children and want to provide some comfort and a little joy.

This was the first time the police department has participated in this giving event and say this may become a more regular activity.

Occurred Thursday December 20, 2012 10:30am      1100 Clare Drive       Phone Scam         1212200045

An 83 year old man received a phone call from a man who claimed to be a clergyman calling from a US embassy in Mexico City. The caller told the elderly individual that his daughter was in custody for possession of marijuana in a Mexican jail, and that he needed to wire $1600 dollars via Western Union in order for her to go to court and then be sent home on an airplane. The caller stated that the US government would later reimburse all the money.  The 83 year old man notified CCPD. When officer Fedler called back “Pastor O’ Conner”, he explained that getting the gentleman’s daughter to court in Mexico would be difficult since she was actually just fine in Missouri where she was supposed to be.

Fortunately in this case, the intended victim was suspicious and contacted the Corpus Christi Police Department first.  These scams continue however because many elderly fall prey to these highly convincing professional criminals. In many cases when victims learn that they were fooled, they are too embarrassed to tell anyone else. Please take a little time to talk about such scams with your family, church and community groups and remind them not to give out banking, credit card or other personnel information to anyone who calls you over the phone.  There are many resources online to educate folks about what is traditionally known as the “Grandparent Scam”. The link below is from the US state Department.

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/financial_scams/financial_scams_5608.html

Wednesday December 19th at 1:42 pm the City of Corpus Christi Police Department’s Facebook page reached 4 thousand likes. Our Twitter account surpassed 2 thousand followers earlier this month.  We have received almost 80,000 views on our YouTube channel. Our Crime Stoppers “Tip Submit App” allows citizens to text tips along with pictures and video anonymously. Through the use of social media, CCPD has been able to keep the public informed of the department’s anti-crime initiatives, disseminate crime prevention tips, warn of crime trends, post departmental news and solicit help from the public in identifying criminals and solving cases.

Please plan to follow our own Officer Kirk Stowers during a “virtual” ridealong (Tweet Along) this Friday from 2:00 am to 8:00pm on Twitter as he works patrol for our Holiday Safety Initiative. Officer Stowers will be able to provide followers with unique insights and respond to questions.

We are always looking for new and meaningful ways to use social media to better communicate with the public and solve crime. Please send your ideas to pdpio@cctexas.com Thank you everyone who friends and follows CCDP!

Friday, December 21, 2012, from 2:00pm until 8:00pm, The Corpus Christi Police Department will host a “Tweet Along” to follow the Holiday Initiative. Officer Kirk Stowers will cruise in a patrol car as the radio call sign “Site 6” and send out information on the social media outlet, Twitter, so that the public may observe police work from the comfort of home.

The holiday Initiative is a program in which extra officers patrol the densely populated shopping areas to reduce crime. The extra officers do not patrol a beat to answer call for service from the public, but instead focus police resources to cooperate with security staff of the shopping centers and direct traffic to reduce crime, reduce the fear of crime, and to enhance public safety.

The activity will be posted on the social media of the Corpus Christi Police Department. Detailed information will be available with the messages on the Corpus Christi Police Blotter which can be accessed by selecting the links that will be embedded in the twitter messages.

Follow the messages, links and photos in real-time as Officer Stowers works the areas full of Holiday shoppers. There is no fee to participate. To become involved in the “Tweet Along,” follow @CorpusChristiPD on Twitter. Be sure to “Like” the City of Corpus Christi Police Department on Facebook.