The Woodlands Township board on Wednesday heard a second-quarter law enforcement update from Montgomery County Sheriff's Office and Montgomery County Constable Precinct 3 that described falling crime trends, use of township-funded overtime patrols and technology, and a series of targeted operations against bank-following thefts and child exploitation.

Montgomery County Captain Ryan Drody told the board that 12-month crime trends are “trending down” and that calls for service remain steady as the county enters summer months. Drody said deputies began tracking overtime and productivity starting June 1; from that date through mid-June deputies worked 314 hours of proactively directed overtime in township areas, focused around the Town Center, Market Street and the mall. He said that overtime patrols resulted in 11 arrests and cited one traffic stop that led to seizure of 16.5 grams of cocaine, a vehicle, and $6,700 in currency.

Assistant Chief Rick Bass described a coordinated “crime reduction” operation aimed at a national trend known as bank “jugging,” in which offenders follow bank customers after withdrawals. Bass said the county partnered with Houston Police Department, Harris County Sheriff’s Office, Texas DPS and the township-funded crime reduction unit; he reported eight arrests in Montgomery County tied to those bank-following operations and said Harris County made additional arrests.

Sheriff’s office speakers and the constable’s presentation highlighted expanded use of technology. Bass and other presenters said the Flock license-plate camera system and other tools allowed investigators to identify suspects more quickly. Drody described one case that began with a witness obtaining a license plate; he said Flock helped track the vehicle and led to an arrest within a week on charges related to an attempted assault.

Montgomery County and fire-marshals staff displayed robotics and SWAT support equipment used to reduce risk for first responders. A fire marshal described the Boston Dynamics “Spot” robot and a smaller iXor-type robot, saying they are used in bomb, SWAT and hazmat responses and are deployed on most SWAT activations. Presenters said the larger robot’s purchase price is about $300,000 and the smaller unit about $100,000, with an all-inclusive warranty for Spot costing roughly $27,000 annually.

Constable Precinct 3 presented statistics for several proactive units. The office’s special victims unit and child-exploitation unit reported new felony charges and operations during April–June; speakers said the child-exploitation unit worked multiagency operations that resulted in arrests of offenders attempting to meet minors. The constable’s criminal interdiction unit reported hundreds of traffic stops and large seizures of narcotics and currency in the quarter, listing quantities described to the board (marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl and nearly $40,000 in seized currency) and reporting about 50 felony charges and 13 misdemeanors from unit operations.

Panel members also described a constable-run canine capability of two dual-purpose and single-purpose K-9s; Montgomery County said its SWAT team includes 26 deputies and two sergeants. Speakers encouraged the public to call two updated county numbers for information and dispatch: (936) 760-5800 and (936) 538-5900.

After the presentations the board voted to accept the law enforcement report (voice vote).