INSIDE the Lakeland Police Department

What Happened to the Blog?

In case you wondered why the LPD blog has not been updated in several days, it is due to our "authors" being out of the office. I am out of town attending some police management training at Boston University, and the other authors are on vacation leave. In any event, we are back on track and ready to update several issues in the next several postings. Thanks for your patience...

I am pleased to report we are working on implementing a media release blog where all of our media releases will be posted for public access. We will keep you posted on when this site goes live in the next few days.

-Asst Chief Bill LePere

Lakeland Police Continue Efforts to Address Attacks on Homeless

In case you missed the article in Sunday's edition of The Ledger, reporter Rick Rousos summarizes the current trend and police efforts regarding attacks on the homeless in Lakeland. Check it out here.

-Asst Chief Bill LePere

Crime Map for May 28 - June 3

Here is the weekly crime map of significant events for the period of Crime Map - 05/28 to 06/3.
Our thanks to Chuck at LakelandLocal.com for producing the map.

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

The CSI Effect

Dana Willhoit, a reporter at The Ledger who specializes in covering court stories, recently blogged about some testimony from our Polk County Medical Examiner, Dr. Stephen Nelson, during a federal trial she was covering. Dana wrote:

"I have been covering a trial in federal court in Tampa, which makes for long, exhausting, but interesting days. Today was "CSI" day. We got to hear the wonderful Dr. Stephen Nelson, Chief Medical Examiner, testify about how you can tell, by looking at a gunshot wound to the head, if the gun was pressed right up against the skull or was several inches away. It's like listening to Gil Grissom, I tell you. Except to my knowledge Dr. Nelson does not actually, within the space of 60 minutes (48 counting commercials), examine a body and then interview the suspects and then rush, by himself, without calling for backup, to the dark, creepy cellar where he thinks one of them might be about to kill his latest victim."

Dana is right on target when she suggests that Dr. Nelson does not do all of "the stuff" we see Gil Grissom or others do on CSI. In fact, the vast majority of the forensic work we see in television shows does not happen nearly as fast in real life. The problem, however, is that juries sometimes expect law enforcement to operate just like they see on CSI and wonder why an agency does not perform a wide range of forensic tests on every case we make.

These unrealistic expectations are referred to as "The CSI Effect" meaning that television is creating in the jurors' minds an impression that what they see on TV happens everyday in real life. That just is not the case.

Not every case has DNA evidence, and with crime labs facing huge backlogs of work to perform, DNA testing can take days, weeks, or even months rather than hours or minutes. A crime scene examination of a vehicle to retrieve evidence takes one or two days, not a few minutes. Though cameras are recording a lot more of life today, not every crime is captured on video - sometimes we just have to rely on eyewitness testimony.

Dr. Nelson's office works closely with detectives and crime scene investigators to locate evidence and determine how a victim died. Together they make for a very experienced team of forensic investigators working to solve violent crimes.

But if we could ask for a favor, please do not expect every case to be worked like what you see on CSI - it just does not happen that way in real life.

-Asst Chief Bill LePere

Ofc. Cheryl Kimball Rides in Police Unity Tour for Police Memorial

Lakeland Police Officer Cheryl Kimball displayed her true dedication to mankind by participating in the 2006 and 2007 "Police Unity Tours". The Police Unity Tour was formed in 1997 to increase public awareness about law enforcement officers that have been killed in the line of duty and to honor their ultimate sacrifice. Cheryl rode this year to honor slain Polk County Sheriff's Department Deputy Matt Williams and K-9 Diogi.

Officer Kimball joined approx 1,000 law enforcement officers from around the nation and rode her Trek 5800 bicycle May 10-12, 2007, a total of 230 miles from Portsmouth, Virginia to Washington D.C. Cheryl describes the following memorable life changing experiences from the ride; As the Police Unity Tour makes its way to Washington D.C. many towns have law enforcement officers standing in formation as the cyclists approach. Cheryl indicated that as she tired during the long rides the outpouring of public and law enforcement support gave her "Goosebumps" and the energy to forge ahead. After the ride Officer Kimball dressed in her Class A Uniform and escorted several of the slain officer's family members at the memorial ceremony. She then presented a rose to each family in honor of those that have died.

Thanks to the dedication of Cheryl and other law enforcement officers that ride to honor those that have died over $4,300,000.00 has been raised since 1997 for the National Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial Fund.

The Unity Tour Team

-Captain Tom Day

TAC Crime Target Leads to North Side Vehicle Burglary Arrests by NET Team

One of the active TAC targets we are working involves vehicle burglaries on the north side of town, particularly apartment complexes. NET officers B. Masters and T. Bailey, two of our undercover surveillance experts, were sitting on a target location late Monday night and observed two subjects acting suspicious around parked vehicles. A traffic stop on the subjects' vehicle as it drove away from the location led to the discovery of property believed to be stolen. Subsequent conversation with the subjects led to an admission they had just recently committed a vehicle burglary at the apartments.

What is interesting to note about this case is the follow up investigation is now leading to the clearance of over 30 additional vehicle burglaries all over Lakeland. Detectives continue to pursue leads and make more clearances from this one arrest. The arrestees are:

Dominic Rashawn Baldwin, B/M, 5-4-89 (left) and Gregory Randoff Smith, Jr., B/M, 1-25-89 (right).

   

We will continue these surveillance stakeouts when we develop useful information from our TAC meetings. In the mean time, you can help reduce the number of vehicle burglaries by simply locking your car windows and doors, and not keeping valuables in plain view inside your car or truck. Over half of our vehicle burglaries occur to unsecured vehicles with valuables easily seen. Remember - "Lock It or Lose It".

-Asst Chief Bill LePere

Youth and Family Alternatives: A Valuable Community Resource

We recently had the opportunity to attend an open house at the Youth and Family Alternatives facility here in Lakeland. This organization serves the needs of troubled youth and their families by providing a wide range of social services that targets rebellious behavior and other life problems.

The staff at Youth and Family Alternatives are excellent in what they do and the programs they offer, which include:

• Crisis counseling and intervention
• Prevention and diversion services
• Runaway shelter services
• Comprehensive family assessments
• Referral for other social services

We urge you to consider them as a resource should you know someone with a troubled child. Their contact information is below.

Youth and Family Alternatives
2212 S. Florida Avenue
Lakeland, FL  33803
863-499-2430

-Asst Chief Bill LePere

Weekly Crime Map for May 21 - 27, 2007

Here is the weekly crime map of significant events for the period of Crime Map - 05/21 to 05/27.
Our thanks to Chuck at LakelandLocal.com for producing the map.

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

Policing the Homeless in Lakeland

Homelessness.

Few social problems strike as many nerves as does the issue of homelessness. It spans the boundaries of race, gender, and economic status. The homeless include single men, single women, drug addicts, and unfortunately far too many children. Recent news stories about vicious assaults on the homeless have once again raised concerns about how our community deals with the problem.

Policing the homeless is a complex proposition that also strikes many nerves. Here is a glimpse into the problem from a police perspective.

Whether by choice or by chance, an individual finding themself homeless will discover both empathy and repulsion within our community. Many community members feel a need to help the homeless through financial support or by volunteering their time at one of many service providers in Lakeland. Others feel a tremendous amount of disgust toward the homeless, believing their situation is the result of laziness and choice.

And where do the police fit into this problem? Usually stuck between a rock and a hard place if you want to know the truth - between people who do not believe making arrests will solve the social ills which are the root cause of homelessness (Where is your compassion officer?) to the mindset that we can remove the problem by simply arresting everyone (For gosh sakes officer, do something - they are dirty and disgusting, and they make me fear for my safety!).

The fact of the matter is pretty clear - for whatever the reason someone becomes homeless, their situation reflects a larger social problem for our community. The stark reality of the problem is that it will not be solved merely by enforcing the law. Alcoholism, substance abuse, mental health issues, and unemployment are often associated with the homeless. Thus, arresting someone for a minor violation will not clean up our streets or make the problem go away because arrest is not an effective deterrent to drug abuse, and arrested individuals seem to have a hard time maintaining steady employment when they are in jail.

Lakeland is well known across the country as a very supportive and compassionate community where the homeless can find comfort and assistance. Thus, we end up becoming a magnet for hundreds of individuals who descend upon Lakeland because it is a nice place to be if you are homeless. We pour our hearts and financial support into worthy endeavors to help the homeless - and then get frustrated when their numbers swell beyond what one community can do to assist. We end up with unwanted consequences, including visual blight and sense of fear...and demand the police clean up the problem. If it were only that easy.

A recent letter to the editor in The Ledger asked the question if it is against City Code for the homeless to sleep along the street. The simple answer is no - our camping ordinance that would prohibit such behavior has previously been declared to be unconstitutional, and the homeless have every much of a right to be on a public sidewalk as the next person, regardless of the time of day and no matter how much we dislike the appearance they give to our community.

          

Cops are pretty straight forward when it comes to dealing with social problems like homelessness. If the conditions and behaviors equate to a crime, then I can make arrests all day long - only to flood the criminal justice system with cases and never solve the problem. Give me a range of service providers and alternative strategies that can deal with the problem more effectively than jail, and I will ensure everyone who wants help gets it.

The problem is our officers do not have that option - there simply are more homeless in Lakeland than the social service agencies can help. Why do we have so many homeless? Refer above to the fact that we are known as a compassionate community and a good place to go if you are homeless. You can begin to see the vicious cycle we are into here - one that we cannot arrest our way through.

This issue is too complex to address in a single posting, but we thought it might be beneficial to start some public dialog on the subject once again. So we ask - what are your ideas or concerns about how we should deal with the homeless? What role should the police have in this huge social problem? How does a community like Lakeland best deal with our homeless population? Is compassion the best way to solve the problem or is tough love the answer?

-Asst Chief Bill LePere