Westchase District’s public safety program began modestly in the late 90s with a handful of Constable deputies from Harris County patrolling the area. As licensed law enforcement officers, Constables could write tickets, make arrests and take individuals to jail, in addition to responding to various calls from property owners.
Westchase District Patrol: Six HPD officers made up the original Westchase District Patrol, shown here with founding general manager Jim Murphy.
In 2004, the District’s board of directors decided to move the program in a different direction. They hired the District’s first full-time public safety director and purchased two white Ford Expeditions – both fully-equipped police vehicles – to launch the Westchase District Patrol. Public Safety Director Mike Cummings, a retired HPD officer, hired the first round of HPD to staff the program. The officers worked extra jobs patrolling Westchase District when they were not on duty for HPD. The fact that all the Westchase Patrol officers came from the ranks of HPD’s Westside Division benefitted the program, because all of the officers knew the streets of Westchase and were familiar with the concerns of property managers here.
Cummings departed after three years, and Mark Hubenak became the Director of Public Safety. Though not a police officer, Hubenak was very familiar with the area and its public safety concerns, having served previously as Director of Security at the Houston Marriott Westchase. During Hubenak’s tenure, he initiated many new programs to engage with Westchase District stakeholders.
Beyond patrols
These included the creation of the Public Safety Alliance – an informal organization of property owners and managers and other corporate professionals responsible for the safety of their employees. The Public Safety Alliance meets several times a year to hear from experts on various topics, which have included cyber security, active shooter, business continuity and catalytic converter theft.
Hubenak also created regular engagement with apartment managers and retail store managers to discuss topics of importance to them, including how to avoid credit card fraud, document ID fraud and burglary prevention.
Hubenak oversaw an explosive growth in the number of Blue Star apartment properties in Westchase District. He worked with property owners to install dozens of “take, lock” signs in parking lots throughout the District to remind motorists to secure their vehicles.
New vehicles; new direction
Former HPD Assistant Chief Don McKinney stepped into the role of Public Safety Director in 2017 and continued to advance the program. McKinney was very familiar with Westchase District, having served as the liaison between Westchase and HPD for nine years. McKinney worked with HPD leadership to gain approval for MDTs (mobile data terminals that connect police vehicles to HPD technology) to be installed in Westchase District Patrol vehicles. He upgraded the vehicles to larger Chevy Tahoes and added emergency call boxes at strategic locations along Westchase trails.
Hubenak returned to the position in 2021 and found a situation very different from the one he’d previously led at Westchase District. HPD’s manpower was greatly diminished and more high-paying extra jobs made it difficult to recruit HPD officers to work for the Patrol.
Collaborative team: Mark Hubenak directs the work of the HPD and SEAL officers who staff the Westchase District Patrol.
Hubenak recommended to the Board that they create a hybrid patrol that still employed HPD officers, but also engaged officers from SEAL Security to patrol Westchase District. SEAL officers are paired with K-9 officers and patrol the District in their own specially-marked vehicles.
A dispatch number – exclusive to Westchase District properties – is answered 24/7. “Having SEAL has been game changing for our program,” said Hubenak. “Because they’re not working extra jobs, we can always count on them to be here and on duty. So whether a hotel is dealing with an unruly guest or a retail store is dealing with a repeat shoplifter, they can call and expect a quick response.”
Call for help: Twelve emergency call boxes are installed along Westchase District trails and greenspaces.
High-tech evolution
Hubenak also led the effort to bring camera technology to Westchase District. Today, more than 30 Flock cameras are installed throughout the area offering important crime solving information to HPD and other area law enforcement agencies. The District has also installed high-tech Axis cameras at Woodchase Park and other high traffic locations in the District. These cameras are programmed to alert our dispatch if suspicious activity (like individuals in the park after it is closed) is observed on camera.
“Our public safety program has evolved so much over the years,” said Westchase District President and CEO Irma Sanchez. “It’s a real asset to the District, because companies want to know that an area is proactive about public safety before they’ll consider moving there. The fact that our crime statistics continue to fall year over year is a credit to Mark’s leadership and the officers – both SEAL and HPD – who patrol the District every day. We never stop looking for ways to
