QUESTION: Is the City of Longview Crime Watch program still active? Several days a week I walk past one of their signs in my neighborhood. It is faded and leaning.
I haven’t seen any other such signs in the area. Many years ago there was a Longview police officer that held a neighborhood Crime Watch meeting in the driveway of the house across the street. Since then I haven’t seen or heard anything about the program.
ANSWER: Hello Answer Line neighbor. Yes, that sign is in sad shape.
Police spokesman LaDarian Brown told me, yes, Longview does still have active Crime Watch groups.
“Since COVID, several groups have become inactive, but we at the Longview Police Department would love to see those — and others — restored,” he said in an email. “As we’ve often said, Crime Watch groups have been a tremendous asset to our community. Having neighborhoods filled with residents who look out for one another has proven to be an additional and effective layer of protection for Longview.”
The city of Longview participates in National Night Out every year. In 2024, there were more than 90 parties. Parties are typically focused around Crime Watch groups.
“Revitalizing Crime Watch groups also ties directly into our efforts around National Night Out. This annual event is a great opportunity for neighbors to come together, meet with local officers, and strengthen community-police partnerships. Active Crime Watch groups are often the driving force behind successful neighborhood participation in National Night Out, helping to build safer and more connected communities,” Brown said.
Neighborhoods that want to establish a Crime Watch group or revitalize their existing Crime Watch should contact their police area representative. A neighborhood that has an existing sign but not an active Crime Watch group can also contact the police area representative to have the sign removed.
This year’s National Night Out, by the way, is Oct. 7. Party registration isn’t yet available but watch this page for additional information in the future: longviewtexas.gov/2627/National-Night-Out-NNO .
You can find inform about how to contact your police area representative at longviewtexas.gov/2647/Police-Area-Representatives-PAR
Q: I was recently in the UK, Norway, and Iceland. Each time I tried to access the News-Journal, I received a notice that the site was forbidden for “legal reasons.”
With the exception of the one day I was in the Republic of Ireland, none of the other locations I visited were members of the EU. This was not the first time I have had this situation. Why can I access the Dallas paper, New York Times, and other sites, but not the News-Journal? Money?
A: Nope, it’s not about money.
The European Union — which, you’re right, does not include the United Kingdom, Norway and Iceland — in 2016 adopted the General Data Protection Regulation. The requirements went into effect in 2018. It’s known for being a strict data privacy law. While it was adopted by the European Union, it affects other organizations
The official website about the law says, “The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the toughest privacy and security law in the world. Though it was drafted and passed by the European Union (EU), it imposes obligations onto organizations anywhere, so long as they target or collect data related to people in the EU. The regulation was put into effect on May 25, 2018. The GDPR will levy harsh fines against those who violate its privacy and security standards, with penalties reaching into the tens of millions of euros.
“With the GDPR, Europe is signaling its firm stance on data privacy and security at a time when more people are entrusting their personal data with cloud services and breaches are a daily occurrence. The regulation itself is large, far-reaching, and fairly light on specifics, making GDPR compliance a daunting prospect, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).”
On top of that, the UK has adopted the General Data Protection Regulation as law in its country. Also, the countries of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are part of the European Free Trade Association, which allows them to be a part of the European Union’s market. The European Union and the European Free Trade Association all follow the General Data Protection Regulation.
The content management system our company uses doesn’t meet the specific standards set by the GDPR.
