MASA Project

Phase 0 The Masa Initiatives

MASA Multi-Family Anti-Crime Initiatives

The Masa Project

Ground 0

October 2015
Ben Munguia

MASA Project
Phase 0 The Masa Initiatives

It is by the integration of integrity

that the police can engage and guide the public
with making our communities safer from crime.
Ben Munguia

MASA Project
Phase 0 The Masa Initiatives

Introduction
Background: It was during an informal chat on crime with a HPD officer who patrols my
neighborhood and the multi-family properties I reside on, that he politely ended our conversation
with, There is only so much we can do but the citizens are not meeting us halfway.
Around the same time period, a long term tenant was finally evicted from the property. The tenants
behavior was uncivilized, anti-social and was also an occasional drug dealer. Afterwards I asked the
property management to ensure that the vacated unit becomes occupied with quality tenants. The
response was, Sure. But how do I do that?
While the use of the idiom by HPD seemed fairly justified, it raised questions. For example, has HPD
truly done all that they can? And why is it difficult for property managers to vet the desirable tenants
from the undesirable ones? However, that was a known factor is that the goal we all have is to live in
safe communities. It is the only way for the adults and the elderly to prosper, and for the kids and
their pets to grow, play and socialize safely.
Therefore as someone that has a good education, years of business experience, a military training,
social and communication skills, and someone that has learned firsthand what it is to be victimized on
numerous occasions due to the infiltration of deviants and criminals onto this property and in this
neighborhood; I made it a mission to find out what the hell was happening.
I had already developed an understanding of the clandestine activities and operations that were
occurring on this property and on many other properties as a result of establishing friendly
communications with illegal immigrants, deviants, low income citizens and teenagers that knew how
to circumvent the law.
However, now I needed to find out why there is a deviation between the police and the law abiding
citizens. And why is there a lack of knowledge by property owners, employees and law abiding
tenants; if we all needed the same thing, which is to live in a crime free environment and secure our
assets, i.e., people and property.

Researching on the causes of the deviation at the proverbial HPD halfway mark, I began with the
examination of the HPDs citizens anti-crime methodologies via its website, which included the Blue
Star Program, Crime Stats and its Make Houston Safe campaign. Additionally, I examined the
websites of other Police Departments across the nation and then expanded my research into some of
the federal agencies. Further, I examined the information provided in other countries that are
westernized.
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What I ultimately discovered is the crime that inflicts multi-family environments, is a standard.
However the methods with dealing with crime on multi-family properties greatly varies between all
agencies As such, this variance is an advantage for criminals and a disadvantage for citizens
especially those that have been victimized.
To test the theory, I began a new undertaking by expending some personal costs and time into some
of the standard anti-crime methodologies and some of concepts I had personally developed that are
not found anywhere in the world. Subsequently, some benefits were achieved. The conclusion is that
a reduction in crime and victimization on multi-family properties is achievable but require HPDs
current anti-crime methodologies to evolve as well as citizens personal knowledge about crime.
Therefore, to reduce the deviation in the understanding of anti-crime methodologies, I developed the
Masa Project. At its core is the MASA Guide which contains my Crime Reducing Initiatives for
Multi-family Environments (C.R.I.M.E.).
The MASA project is a multi-dimensional solution for a multi-dimensional problem therefore the
implementations of its initiatives are divided into phases:

Phase 1 HPD UCR Crime Stats

o Re-classification as a Citizens Anti-Crime utility
o Making the downloadable datasets user friendly
o Source of quantification of criminal activities and performance of anti-crime
initiatives

Phase 2 The Masa Guide

o Anti-Crime manual on modifying the physical environment, social environment and
common sense business practices.
o A one of a kind anti-crime learning tool with in-depth information for owners,
employees and residents for making their multi-family properties safer.

Phase 3 Anti-Crime Social Networking

o The creation of dedicated lines of communications between HPD and multi-family
properties and citizens.

Phase 4 The HPD Website

o Enhance the site with additional anti-crime utilities.
o Re-market/re-package Houston Safe as Citizens Anti-Crime

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In conclusion, criminal activities perpetuate in part due to the lack of information by citizens even
though knowledge is an integral part of surviving, protecting oneself and protecting others from those
that would do harm.
This MASA project and the MASA Guide1 are the next steps in the evolution to reduce the
victimizations of citizens.
This project and the guide are unlike anything in the nation and the world because it is a multidimensional anti-crime approach for reducing deviant and criminal activities on multifamily
properties.
While it is understood that there is only so much that the police department are able to do in
protecting citizens and engaging the citizens to take an active role in protecting themselves, such as
learning Blue Star and MASA, being more transparent with the data pertaining to all criminal
activities and also implementing the Masa initiatives will bring HPD closer to the proverbial half-way
mark.

Munguia, Ben. "MASA Guide 770." Scribd. Self Publication, Spring 2015. Web.

<https://www.scribd.com/doc/273659501/MASA-Guide-770>.

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