INSIDE the Lakeland Police Department

Still Time Left to Register for Citizens Police Academy

There are still a few slots available for individuals interested in registering for the 2007 Citizens Police Academy. The academy begins on Wednesday, August 15, and runs through November 14, 2007. Classes are on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM.

Attendees will get a comprehensive overview of the inner workings of the police department, including presentations from operational units and support services. Topics include Patrol operations, Investigations, Crime Lab, Comm Center, and more. The demonstrations, tours, and instructional presentations give you a birds-eye view of how the police department operates.

You can download an application here. Log onto the LPD web site for more information on the CPA or call 863-834-5623.

-Asst Chief Bill LePere

Weekly Crime Stats for July 2 - July 8, 2007

You can view our crime stats by clicking the link below.

Download weekly_crime_report_july_2_july_8_2007.pdf

-Faye Tarpley, Office of the Chief of Police

Lakeland Police Claim Another Team Title at Florida Police Olympics

Once again the team from Lakeland PD claimed another team title at the 2007 Florida Law Enforcement Games held last month in Sarasota. The team results were just released showing LPD took the overall title by a considerable margin in our agency-size category. The results include:

• Lakeland PD - 368 points
• Sarasota PD - 248 points
• Gainesville PD - 98 points

The 2007 Police Olympics Team from Lakeland PD

We proud of our athletes and their commitment to staying in top physical condition throughout the year and representing our department at the Olympic games each summer. Maintaining one's level of physical fitness helps police officers deal with the stress of the job and allows them to cope with the dangers associated with policing. The Olympics promote team spirit and cooperation among members.

Congratulations to the team leader - Captain Tom Day - for another successful Olympic endeavor.

-Asst Chief Bill LePere

Text Messaging Crime Tips in San Diego

We previously posted last month how Boston Police were launching an initiative to encourage citizens to text-message tips about crimes to the police. It is probably too soon to have many success stories at this point.

Now comes word that San Diego is also exploring the same way to use technology to gather tips from the public. You can check out the story at the San Diego Union-Tribune web site.

"San Diego law enforcement officials are considering a text-messaging system for anonymous crime tips that was unveiled by Boston-area police last month. If successful, the effort could combine a popular communications method with familiar police tip lines to help solve violent crimes."

Looks like this may be a growing trend in the industry. Curious to hear if people around here would consider using this form of communication to provide crime tips to the police. What do you think?

-Asst Chief Bill LePere

Weekly Crime Map for June 25 - July 1

Here is the weekly crime map of significant events for the period of Crime Map - 06/25 to 07/01.
Our thanks to Chuck at LakelandLocal.com for producing the map.

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

July 2007 Employee Service Awards

Four LPD employees were recognized recently by the City Commission for their service and tenure. Those employees and their longevity include:

10 Years of Service

• Ms. Cindy Sharp - a Crime Prevention Practitioner with the Community Services Unit who serves the southeast district of the city. Her role is to work with neighborhood watch groups and associations, as well as give crime prevention presentations to community groups.

20 Years of Service

• Ms. Nancy Lott - a Telecommunications Specialist in our Communications Center. Ms. Lott also serves as a trainer for new dispatchers. She is a calm and steady voice when dispatching police units during an emergency or handling incoming 911 calls.
• Sgt. Steve Pacheco - a supervisor with Uniform Patrol Division Alpha Squad day shift, Sgt. Pacheco brings a wide range of experience to the job from his prior assignments in narcotic investigations and as a coordinator of the Field Training program.

30 Years of Service

• Captain Tom Day - commanding officer of Uniform Patrol Division 2, including the Special Operations teams of Traffic Enforcement, SWAT, Aviation, and the Dive Team. Captain Day is also the driving force behind the Department's Police Olympics Team and the coordinator of our involvement in the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Florida Special Olympics.

We deeply appreciate the long-term commitment to our community and department that is displayed everyday by these folks. Thank you for your ongoing service to the citizens of Lakeland.

-Chief of Police Roger Boatner

Four New Lakeland Police Officers Sworn In

Four new police officers took the oath of office and received their shields on Friday during swearing-in ceremonies at City Hall. Officers James Lewis #283, Emma Molina #179, William Petitt #293, and Raul Zayas #297 are the latest members of Lakeland PD. They graduated on Friday from a five-week mini-academy and are now ready to begin their field training program.

   
From left to right: Officer Zayas, Officer Lewis, Officer Molina, and Officer Petitt.

City Commissioner Howard Wiggs was the keynote speaker for the ceremony. He urged the new officers to always remember the impact they will have on the people they meet everyday while serving the community, and he charged them to serve all citizens with respect.

We welcome our newest LPD members to the family and wish them much success as they enter the field training program on Sunday.

-Asst Chief Bill LePere

The Costs of Bad Driving Go Up

The cost for driving badly went up slightly as of July 1st when new fines for traffic violations went into effect. It is going to cost you a little more if you violate the traffic laws. However, it is not going to cost quite as much as the Legislature planned thanks to a veto by Governor Crist.

So how much will it cost you? Here is a quick summary:

• Moving violation - $121.50
• Non-moving violation - $74.50
• Speeding (depending on the speed) - $86.50 - $311.50
• Speeding in a school or construction zone - $111.50 - $561.50
• Red light running - $186.50

We previously posted information about how much revenue the police department gets from traffic fines. The Legislature passed Senate Bill 1030 during this year's session that would have increased the amount of training dollars to be allocated from traffic citations and other non-criminal fines from $2.00 to $4.00. On June 28, 2007, Governor Crist vetoed the bill by noting that increasing fines for criminal violators seemed fair but do to the same for non-criminal violations was an unreasonable cost to Floridians. As such, our portion of a traffic citation remains at $2.00 to be used for training programs under F/S 938.15.

We try not to view traffic citations as a revenue-creating program for government. Fines are intended to be a deterrent rather than income to operate our budgets. Not every state feels the same way.

In his blog over at The Ledger, Bill Blocher noted that Virginia imposed an additional hefty civil fine on Virginia residents by adding as much as $1,050 on top of the original traffic fine cost. This is anticipated to bring in an extra $65 million to $120 million next year. These fines do not, thank goodness, apply to citations issued to non-Virginia residents ticketed while driving in that state.

The bottom line here - slow down and obey the rules if you want to avoid traffic fines.

-Asst Chief Bill LePere

Weekly Crime Stats for June 25 - July 1, 2007

You can view our weekly crime stats by clicking the below link

Download weekly_crime_report_june_25_july_2007.pdf

-Faye Tarpley, Office of the Chief of Police

Crime Map for June 18 - 24, 2007

Here is the weekly crime map of significant events for the period of Crime Map - 06/18 to 06/24.
Our thanks to Chuck at LakelandLocal.com for producing the map.

- Asst Chief Bill LePere