INSIDE the Lakeland Police Department

The Top Ten...

...things a Cop will never get thanked for.

Found this posted on a bulletin board at the police station and decided to share it in the blog. The author is anonymous, but I wish we could give credit because it's that good.

1. Making the DUI stop that prevented a 3 car pile-up and 2 deaths.
2. The advise you gave to an abused housewife to leave the guy, stopping a homicide that would have happened 5 years later.
3. Arresting a drug dealer that would have killed a promising young athlete by accident in a drive-by shooting.
4. Bringing a homeless person to a shelter when the temperature is 20 degrees outside.
5. Defusing a situation that would have led to violence.
6. Taking it on the chin from Monday-morning quarterbacks while maintaining a professional attitude and a positive outlook.
7. Working under a microscope.
8. Reaching out to a troubled kid who could go either way.
9. Risking your life to protect others.
10. The fact that you were there, right when someone needed you.

We are grateful for the positive comments we do receive for doing a good job. The Lakeland community is very supportive of the police department, and we truly appreciate the thanks that come our way.

The funny thing about this job is that you never know what impact a small (and seemingly insignificant) thing you do today will have on someone else tomorrow - you just never know.

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

Weekly Crime Stats ~ March 19-25, 2007

The below link will lead you to our weekly crime stats.

Download weekly_crime_report_march_19_25_2007.pdf

"But Officer - I Was Only Gone for a Minute"

While reading the summary of crime incidents from the past weekend, I learned about an incident in which a citizen left their car unlocked and running so they could dash into the store to make a quick purchase. To their surprise upon returning to the vehicle, a purse left carelessly inside on the seat was now missing.

Officers hear this statement all too often in such situations, "But Officer, I was only gone for a minute."

Due to the lack of thinking on the part of "victims" in such situations, the police are now responsible for writing a report about a crime that was preventable, and a pin marker will appear on the next crime map for something that should have never occurred. It really amounts to a waste of police resources that could be used for other more pressing matters.

In fact, just over half of thefts from motor vehicles occur when careless drivers leave their cars unlocked, or windows down, or valuables left in plain view. Last year that accounted for nearly 600 of the approximately 1,200 thefts from motor vehicles investigated by the police department.

It is against the law to leave your unattended vehicle running while you run into the store, but officers need to observe the violation in order to charge someone; and, we prefer to give warnings when we do discover a violation rather than issue a citation.

Not every car burglar can be identified as easily as the suspicious character to the right. Please do your part and help prevent these crimes. Even if you are going to be away from your car for just a moment, turn it off, lock it, and remove anything of value from the prying eyes of anyone lurking in the parking lot.

Remember - Lock It or Lose It!

-Asst Chief Bill LePere

New Officers Sworn in at Lakeland PD

Lakeland PD proudly welcomed four new officers to the department today during Graduation and Swear-in ceremonies at City Hall. Officers Clint Harris, Melissa Sellers, Peter Serrano, and Jonathan Thompson (left to right below) took their oath of office and received their police shields as part of a time-honored ceremony that included family members pinning the badge on each officer's uniform.

These officers have completed three weeks of their initial orientation academy at the police department with one more week to go before they enter the formal Field Training program. This intense field training lasts three months, during which time the new officers ride with experienced training officers who ensure the "rookies" are ready to work on their own.

Officer Harris spoke on behalf of the class and recalled the many challenging experiences faced by the new officers so far as they learn the basics of police work in the initial phase of the department academy. Officer Sellers read the Police Officer Code of Ethics to reinforce the ethical standards of the policing profession.

City Commissioner Gow Fields was the keynote speaker for today's ceremony. Commissioner Fields recalled the humble beginnings of community policing in Lakeland over 15 years ago as the department sought to forge partnerships with the many neighborhoods throughout the city. He urged the new officers to continue practicing the philosophy of community policing during their careers and to reinforce the belief that citizens and the police, working together, can solve many of our neighborhood problems.

We welcome the latest LPD officers to the department.

More on Red Light Cameras

In case you missed it, Chuck Welch at LakelandLocal.com posted an informative multi-part series this week on red light cameras. His posts include a step by step introduction into red light cameras and provides readers with links to numerous research studies into the cameras' effectiveness.

Not only will the reader be able to better appreciate the utility of red light cameras, you will also read about Chuck's own field research into the unpredictable nature of red light violations at any given intersection. We will leave you with that tease and urge you to see for yourself what we are talking about.

Weekly Crime Stats ~ March 12 - 18, 2007

The below link will lead you to our weekly crime stats

Download weekly_crime_report_march_12_18_2007.pdf

Annual LPD Open House: What a Special Day!

Our recent Open House was held last Saturday, March 17th. The turnout was spectacular as an estimated 1,500 people attended the half-day event. The weather was simply perfect, and the kids seemed to really have fun at the many displays set up for their enjoyment.

Tours of the police station were in high demand as 18 different groups were escorted throughout the interior of the station with stops in the Communications Center, the Emergency Operations Center, the prisoner holding cells, our Patrol Briefing room, and the ever popular Crime Lab. K-9 demonstrations captivated the audience outside in the rear parking lot. From the helicopter and tank to the SWAT team's gear, the tools of our trade were on display for viewing as well.

Special thanks to the many community groups who set up booths, helped cook and serve hot dogs, or volunteered in numerous other ways behind the scenes to make this event a huge success. Those groups and/or businesses include:

Home Depot, Lakeland Moonwalk, Explorations V Children's Museum, Army National Guard, Amerigroup, Nathaniel Robinson (hot dog chef extrordinare!) Lakeland Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association, Neighborhood Association Council, and the Community Emergency Response Team.

We look forward to seeing you again next year at the 2008 Open House. Below are some photos from the day's activities you might enjoy viewing.

       

       

   

Police Chases: Are They Necessary?

TheLedger.com has a story today on police pursuits, and in particular a pursuit involving LPD units last October following a downtown bank robbery. Once you are online at The Ledger, you can also see video clips from police in-car video cameras that captured the pursuit.

This lengthy pursuit ended on Hwy 98 North when a patrol unit made contact with the fleeing vehicle and turned it on its side. The now sideways truck slid into another vehicle on the roadway before coming to rest. Two subjects from the truck were arrested and charged with the armed robbery. There were no injuries resulting from this pursuit or its ending.

A Pursuit Review Board found the pursuit to be within policy guidelines. You can read a copy of the Board's summary report here. The Board did make two recommendations for policy reviews which are underway at this time:

1)  Review the feasibility of implementing a policy change to train for PIT maneuvers, and;

2)  Review alternative tactics for deploying stop sticks so as to minimize the risk to officers who must stand along the edge of the roadway as a pursuit heads toward them in order to properly deploy the strip of sharp spikes.

We will keep the community updated on these policy reviews as they are completed.

This pursuit once again draws our attention to the difficult balance between the threat to society posed by a fleeing criminal and the risks to the public that come from a pursuit traveling on the roads. When should officers quit chasing armed bank robbery suspects instead of engaging in a pursuit?

In our opinion, the officers who participated in this incident and the supervisors who oversaw the entire operation were extremely cognizant of the risks that the pursuit posed to the community and balanced it with the potential harm associated with letting armed robbers go. The officers faced numerous challenges throughout the pursuit and made difficult decisions in split seconds that can be second guessed much later. Thier courage in the face of danger is a credit to their professionalism, training, and experience.

As always we welcome your comments, whether you are for or against motor vehicle pursuits. Let us know what you think about police chases.

Crime Maps

Chuck Welch, over at LakelandLocal.com, took our weekly significant events crime report from last week and generated a crime map using Google Maps to show the location of each reported crime. His interactive map displays a pin marking the location of each crime, and hovering over the pin brings up a textbox describing the offense.

We appreciate his suggestions to enhance our weekly crime report and are moving forward to make those improvements on our blog.

-Asst Chief Bill LePere

Creative Traffic Enforcement Strategies

Various news services ran a story yesterday reporting that a leprechaun was spotted conducting traffic enforcement along the roadways of Orange County, Florida. The leprechaun was actually OCSO Deputy Sheriff Richard Lockman dressed in a leprechaun costume and using a laser to detect speeders. He had a sign by him that read "Watch your speed or it will cost you your pot of gold."

Officials report the traffic enforcement operation was very successful.

We applaud the innovative use of the leprechaun costume around St. Patrick's Day to catch speeders. Police agencies are always trying different strategies to observe and cite those drivers who simply refuse to obey posted speed limit signs.

One argument that is often made against these types of enforcement operations is that they are somehow unfair because the officer is in a decoy mode of dress. We are interested in your thoughts about this point. What do you think about the police using decoys when attempting to catch speeders? Is it fair, in your opinion, to use decoys?

And as for Lakeland as we approach Easter, we have no plans at this time to have an officer wear an six-foot bunny costume and stand along the roadway to clock speeders. So if you do see a giant bunny at the side of the road, pull over immediately and call for a ride because you have obviously had too much to drink!