Staff reports

   The City of Eagle Pass will be taking measures to ensure that everything is being done to prevent theft at stores downtown.

   In a response to an article published in The News Gram on Sunday that touched on the theft problem downtown, Eagle Pass Police Chief Alberto Guajardo said he will be partnering with Main Street Program Manager Joe Cruz to train merchants in ways to better monitor customers and merchandise.

   Many times merchandise is set up outside the stores on the sidewalks, cash registers are left unattended, music is playing loudly, doors are left wide open, and there is no way to differentiate between employees and customers because there are no uniforms: all of which makes stealing easier.

   Unwillingness to report theft is also common among downtown merchants, and is a problem for police officers, said Guajardo. Many merchants refuse to press charges, despite being able to recognize the perpetrators because they do not want thieves to return to their stores and cause more problems, which Guajardo said he understands on some level.

Approximately 700 of service calls in 2016 were theft related, of which a very small percentage were in regards to theft in the downtown area. Most of the calls were for incidents in the South Bibb area, despite there being loss prevention officers and surveillance cameras in most of the stores.

As far as comments on lack of patrol units in the downtown area, Guajardo said he did investigating of his own, and found that there were officers driving up and down Main Street and Commercial Street. Officers are focusing not only on theft, but on drug and prostitution cases that are seen in the area, though not as frequently as in past years.

Guajardo said he is available to work with merchants, and plans to do just that by raising security in the area and asking merchants to do their part.

Last year, officers responded to a little over 30,000 service calls, up approximately 2,000 calls since 2015. These calls included robberies, motor vehicle accidents, and the greatest problem in the City of Eagle Pass: domestic violence.

Chief Guajardo also informed us on current vacancies that are available. There are currently five vacancies the department is trying to fill, as calls continue to increase with every year. With exams for corporal and sergeant positions taking place later during the year, the number of vacancies will rise.