INSIDE the Lakeland Police Department

Preparing for Hurricane Season

Lakeland PD recently sent our emergency managers to the Governor's Hurricane Conference as part of our preparations for hurricane season which begins June 1st. Lieutenants Mike Link, Steve Walker, and Anne-Marie Wendel attended the conference that featured presentations on Managing Emergency Operations Centers, Advanced Municipal Emergency Management, and Volunteer Administration. Workshops included Incident Management Teams, Emergency Strike Teams, and Emergency Management Funding Strategies.

In addition to the presentations, our emergency managers were able to network with their peers from other local jurisdictions and learn from their recent disasters. This allows Lakeland PD and the City of Lakeland to better coordinate our response in times of natural or man-made disasters.

It is not too early for community members to begin your hurricane preparations as well. One of the most important messages to come out of the Governor's Hurricane Conference is the need for citizens to be ready with supplies to support your family for 72 hours after a disaster occurs. Despite how well prepared we are to get assistance into the community after a storm, it takes time to set up relief stations, food distribution centers, etc. Everyone needs to make plans ahead of time to be self sufficient for three days or go somewhere with family or friends.

For a list of items each family should consider in preparing for hurricane season, you may visit the Florida Division of Emergency Management. The Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax holiday runs from June 1 through June 12, 2007. You can obtain a list of items available under the sale tax holiday from Florida DEM.

-Lt. Steve Walker

Lakeland Police Honor Guard Posts Colors for Devil Rays Game

The Lakeland Police Honor Guard participated Tuesday night in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' "Lakeland Community Night" at Tropicana Field by posting the colors for the National Anthem before the game. City Commissioner Glenn Higgins threw out the ceremonial first pitch on Lakeland's night at the Trop, a fast ball that did not register much on the radar gun but would have still be called a strike!

Members participating in the event include Sgt. B. Shanley, Officer D. Vachon, Officer T. Thompson, Officer W. Long, and Officer S. Jett. Honor Guard Supervisor Sgt. H. Lehman accompanied the group as well.

Our Honor Guard is comprised of volunteers who serve a various functions, including funeral services, memorial services, and other department events. They practice their skills to maintain a sharp, crisp appearance whenever called upon to perform their services. We appreciate their dedication and the untold sacrifices they make to represent the department.

And for the record, the Devil Rays fell to the visiting Detroit Tigers by a score of 14 - 2.

     

-Asst Chief Bill LePere

Sixth Annual Lakeland Police Department Retiree's Luncheon

The sixth annual Lakeland Police Department Retiree's luncheon was recently held at the police station. This ritual began back in 2001 as a small way to pay tribute to the men and women who devoted so much of their lives to protecting and serving the citizens of Lakeland.

Every year prior to the meal being served, there is a special time where those gathered bow their heads and pause in a moment of silence to remember those who have passed away during the previous year and are no longer with us.

Participants enjoyed a scrumptious meal of bbq ribs, chipped pork, beans, and peach cobbler. It is said the group would be happy with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich as long as they were together as a group!

As stories of the past were told and memories were shared, there was much laughter and a true sense of camaraderie throughout the room. Participants admired the "new" additions to the developing LPD museum and some even came to the luncheon to donate a treasure from the past.

Based on the number of Hawaiian print shirts in the crowd, life as an LPD retiree seems to be pretty good. 

     

Everyone left in high spirts and secure in their knowledge that they have not been forgotten by their LPD family, and that their service was truly appreciated by those of us who still "protect and serve".

-Jack Gillen, Public Information Officer

Lakeland Police Present Annual "Do The Right Thing" Awards

The Lakeland Police Department's annual "Do The Right Thing" awards for the 2006 - 2007 school year were recently presented during an awards dinner at The Lakeland Center. Ken Suarez, the Polk County reporter for WTVT Fox 13 news, was the keynote speaker who reminded everyone that even simple acts of doing the right thing can sweep through a community. We never know the full impact our actions have on others.

Martin McRobie, Jr. received the overall top award for his heroic efforts to rescue an entrapped driver from a single car vehicle crash. Martin is a recent graduate from Lake Gibson Senior High School.

Chief Boatner presents Martin McRobie, Jr.
the overall award for 2006 - 2007

Honorable mention went to Travis Capper from Lakeland Senior High School, Austin Christensen from Kathleen Middle School, and Jorge Poz, Jr. from Southwest Middle School.

Travis Dimmig, a recent graduate from George Jenkins High School, received the top scholarship from the "Do The Right Thing" program. Travis will study computer science at the University of West Florida in the fall.

Other scholarships were presented to Mondrell Clarke, a graduate from Kathleen Senior High School, who will be attending Rocky Mountain College in Montana, and Cody Jarrett, also a graduate from Kathleen Senior High School, who will be attending the University of Florida.

Kayla McClellan, from Kathleen Senior High School, received the first ever "DTRT Humanitarian Award."

-Asst Chief Bill LePere

Lakeland Police Officer Felicia Wilson Promoted to Sergeant

A first occurred at the Lakeland Police Department Friday afternoon when Officer Felicia Wilson was promoted to Sergeant, becoming the first Afro-American female at the department to hold that rank. With family members and many friends in attendance, Sgt. Wilson took her oath of office and received her Sergeant Shield from from her husband, Lakeland Police Lt. Al Wilson.

Sgt. Felicia Wilson receives her shield from her husband, Lt. Al Wilson

Sgt. Wilson joined the Lakeland Police Department in 1994 and served in the Uniform Patrol Division, Special Investigations Division, and most recently in the School Resource Unit as a DARE Officer. She also serves as a member of the Honor Guard and the Hostage Negotiation Team. She was recognized as the Florida DARE Officer of the Year in 2002.

Sgt. Wilson earned a Bachelor's degree in business management from Saint Leo University in 2004 where she graduated Magna Cum Laude.

Chief Boatner noted the promotion of Sgt. Wilson (before a standing room only crowd) was historic and reflected the positive changes that are happening in Lakeland. As he does at all promotion ceremonies, Chief Boatner reminded Sgt. Wilson of the incredible responsibility that comes with a promotion.

We wish the best for Sgt. Wilson and congratulate her on the promotion to Sergeant. Once the excitement of the promotion ceremony subsides, she will be assigned to a night shift in Uniform Patrol Division.

-Asst Chief Bill LePere

Lakeland Police K-9 Unit Receives Donation from Sam's Club

The Lakeland Police Department's K-9 unit received a $2,500 grant donation from the new Sam's Club in Lakeland earlier this week as part of their corporate Safe Neighborhood Heroes Grant program. The monies will go toward costs associated with replacing some of our aging K-9s. We recently had to purchase three new dogs due to medical and old age retirements, costs that we were not expecting in this budget year.

We welcome the new Sam's Club to the south Lakeland area and thank them for their generous grant donation to our K-9 program.

-Asst Chief Bill LePere

Weekly Crime Stats

Download Weekly Crime Report for May 14 to May 20, 2007.pdf

Property Tax Reform

One of the hottest political topics in our state today is the issue of property tax reform. Local politicians and representatives of governments throughout Polk County met with the Polk County legislative delegation on Wednesday to discuss the impact of proposed property tax cuts. State Senators J.D. Alexander and Paula Dockery along with State Representatives Frank Attkisson, Seth McKeel, Dennis Ross, and Baxter Troutman were in attendance.

Everyone seems to agree on one thing - our property tax system is not fair in its current form and needs to be fixed. Agreement ends if the fix to the system reduces local government budgets

You can catch more of the news coverage from this event at The Ledger. Our reason for attending the meeting and mentioning it here in our blog is not to report the news - we leave that to the media who do a great job at it. Rather, our goal is to answer questions we receive from the community asking what the impact of property tax reform will be on the police department.

The answer at this time is - we just do not know because it is too early to tell.

Some initial projections indicate the loss of revenue to the police department could equal losing 12 police officer positions, while other estimations are not that severe. We have already been asked to maintain our operating expenses in next year's budget at this year's level (as opposed to the original 3% increase) and impose a soft hiring freeze for some positions. We have not been asked to cut any positions.

Without any firm revenue figures upon which a budget can be created, we have no solid idea what type of reduction our budget faces. What can be stated at this time is fairly straight forward and simple... a reduction in the budget will require the police department consider four options:

1. Maximize efficiencies wherever possible
2. Find alternative funding sources, such as grants or user fees
3. Cut some minor services to maintain current staff
4. Reduce staff size, preferably through attrition

The Executive Staff began discussing this issue several months ago, and we continue to carefully monitor the situation so we can respond in a reasonable and prudent manner rather than with some knee-jerk reaction. What we can state with certainty is that we will maintain sufficient resources to answer 9-1-1 phone calls, respond to emergency calls for service, patrol neighborhoods, address emerging crime trends, and conduct follow up investigations.

Our goal is straight forward - we will avoid scare tactics that suggest crime will run rampant through our community if our budget is reduced by any amount, but at the same time be honest in answering questions about how we will work around what appears to be an inevitable loss of some funding.

That is our commitment to excellence in action.

-Asst Chief Bill LePere

Weekly Crime Stats

Download Weekly Crime Report for May 7 to May 13, 2007.pdf

-Kathy Clark, Chief's Office

Just How Smart Are Your Police K-9s?

Ever wonder just how smart police K-9s really are? Here is a story to illustrate that our dogs are sometimes smarter than their officers.

Neighborhood officers were recently involved in a graffiti removal project in a southwest Lakeland neighborhood. The project involved painting over some gang markings that threatened to harm Lakeland Police officers working the area. We take these threats seriously and got permission of property owners to get rid of the vandalism right away. We are just not going to let some street thugs think they can mark their territory, put a neighborhood in fear, and threaten to kill police officers.

K-9 Officer Jeff Barrett comes along and offers to assist in the effort. The photo to the right shows him working with a paint roller. Carefully examine the photo and you will quickly see that it looks like Barrett has never used a paint roller before today.

To the rescue comes his K-9 partner, Beno, who has to show his master how to correctly use the tool and apply the paint in the photo below.

We have always believed that our police K-9s were some of the smartest in the business. We now have proof of that fact!

Our thanks to all the officers who participated in removing this gang graffiti. Special thanks to Home Depot for donating the paint needed to cover the graffiti. And we owe special thanks to Officer Barrett and K-9 Beno for posing for these photos and showing that officers do have a sense of humor.

-Asst Chief Bill LePere