INSIDE the Lakeland Police Department

"Brother Can You Spare Me a Dime" - Policing Panhandlers in Lakeland

A recent Letter to the Editor in The Ledger addressed a problem with panhandlers on East Memorial Boulevard. Such nuisances create a lower quality of life in our community, for who wants to be accosted by these individuals when we are taking our families out for dinner.

I experienced this problem first hand myself while dining downtown several months ago. An individual who obviously just arrived in town via the most recent freight train or bus approached my wife and I looking for a handout. I promptly and assertively told him to leave us alone as such activity was not permitted in town. He then turned to another table just a few feet away where a repeat performance of his plea for assistance produced a $20 bill from the diner's wallet.

Asking for assistance is not a crime, but aggressive panhandling is a violation of a City Ordinance. We do respond to calls for service of this nature along East Memorial Boulevard when merchants request our assistance. We rely on getting calls from the public when panhandlers become aggressive or when merchants want an individual removed from their property. Our limited resources simply do not permit us to maintain a heavy presence in the area in hopes of preventing such incidents.

So how can we prevent future acts of aggressive panhandling? Let's start by understanding human nature. Panhandlers go where they know they can get a quick buck or two. It is a bit like hunting or fishing - you go where you have the greatest chance of succeeding. What is needed is for people to realize that your "gracious" act of giving money to someone who is panhandling is actually perpetuating the problem rather than making things better.

Stop giving money and the panhandlers move on.

The other aspect of this problem is linked to something we have blogged about repeatedly - how we deal with the homeless problem in Lakeland.

Many of the panhandlers on Memorial Boulevard are looking for places to sleep, food from restaurant dumpsters, and opportunities to beg for money. Our community simply does not have enough social services providers to meet the needs of the many homeless individuals who travel to Lakeland because we are known across the country for being so generous to anyone coming into town looking for a handout.

Problems such as homelessness and aggressive panhandling expose the deep social ills that we routinely expect to be solved with a quick call to the police. We will not arrest our way out of this problem - we need to continue as a community to find ways to deal with homelessness and the related problems of aggressive panhandling.

Something to think about the next time you see someone giving money to a panhandler...

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

Lakeland Police Conduct Refresher Training in Homeland Security Operations

No, it's not the latest version of police uniforms being considered by Lakeland Police officers in the photo to the left here. And it is not an invasion of aliens, though people do sometimes look at us like we are from another universe.

Rather, these photos are from recent in-service training sessions where our officers donned protective suits that are to be worn in the event of some type of chemical or biological hazard requiring full-body protection.

The masks and suits are intended to be worn by officers on security perimeters of incidents related to homeland security threats. These threats may not come from terrorist activity. The most common use for the protective suits will be chemical spills or perhaps an incident involving a biological threat.

In any event, the training sessions gave our officers the opportunity to suit up and see what a challenge it would be to do their jobs in the hot Florida sun while completely encased in a protective suit.

Lakeland PD continues to offer specialized training in homeland security operations and required NIMS training (the National Incident Management System) as established by FEMA.

We hope the need for using these suits never comes our way. (They are hot, in case you were wondering. I know because I suited up myself one day.) But if the need arises, our officers are prepared and ready to respond.

      

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

Red Light Camera Update

Thought it might be a good time to send out a general update on the progress of photo traffic enforcement legislation (red light cameras) in Florida.

It seems like the months just before the start of a new legislative session brings out limitless optimism from the forces favoring laws to permit photo traffic enforcement. At the same time, opposing forces rally against what they view as intrusive government activity.

So where will it all end in 2008? Nobody knows for sure, but we have some information to share with you as lawmakers get ready for the 2008 legislative session in Tallahassee.

Representative Ron Reagan (R - District 67, Sarasota) has re-filed the Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Act (HB 351) in the House of Representatives. Senator Mike Bennett (R - District 21, Bradenton) is the sponsor of the companion bill in the Senate (SB 816). Supporters are claiming the bill will get an early hearing in the Senate Committee on Transportation, where it was stalled last year.

The STOP! Red Light Running Coalition of Florida is citing a survey conducted in August 2007 that claims 85% of Floridians favor the use of red light cameras. Another 10% oppose such enforcement strategies. These surveys are always subject to close scrutiny for any type of potential bias, so we leave their relevancy and reliability for you to decide.

In keeping up with research on photo traffic enforcement, I recently read an article in a police leadership newsletter on what elements make for a successful enforcement program. You can read the entire article here.

We will keep you posted as this bill makes its way through the Legislature in 2008.

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

It's Nice to Have Friends

It's nice to have friends thinking of you during the holiday season. A thoughtful gesture goes a long way at this time of year.

With that thought in mind, it was very nice of Chuck at LakelandLocal.com to think of the Lakeland Police Department when he assembled a list of presents for Santa to bring to his friends. LPD made the list this year.

While we seem to always be on somebody's list, this was a nice list to get on. We would love to get the present he asked Santa to deliver to us.

Thanks for thinking of us Chuck - Season's Greetings!

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

Policing During the Holidays

Serving the public during the holiday season provides us with many opportunities to bring a little holiday cheer into our community. Though we've been busy lately with such holiday gatherings (which has caused my blogging to lag just a bit), here are a couple of recent events we attended.

Thought we would share then with you to keep the holiday spirit alive going into the final shopping weekend before Christmas next week. Shopping - did I mention Lock It or Lose It when parking and leaving your car, if only for a few moments?

Cops and Christmas

Approximately 50 families received Christmas presents from the Lakeland Police Department's Community Services Unit during our annual Cops and Christmas party on Wednesday evening. The families were invited to the police station for some holiday cheer where they received toys for the children.

Santa Claus was on hand to keep the festive spirit going strong as everyone enjoyed some sandwiches and  interacted with Chief Roger Boatner and Assistant Chief Charles Thompson.

    

One cannot help but get in the holiday spirit when you see the faces of little children light up at these events. Our thanks to the Community Services Unit for organizing this event, arranging the food, and coordinating the purchase of gifts.

The Polar Express Tour Visits LPD

I also had the opportunity to host visiting students from Ms. Brekke's Grade 1B class at St. Paul's Lutheran School here in Lakeland as they arrived at the police station following a train ride symbolic of The Polar Express.

We gathered in a conference room where I read the book to the students seated around me. We imagined being part of the story of a little boy's magical journey to the North Pole on Christmas Eve. Afterwards, we shared milk and cookies (chocolate chip, of course... mmm, my favorite).

The students presented me with a silver bell, representing the bell from Santa's sleigh in the story book. I cherish the thoughtful gift and will include the bell in my annual holiday decorations to remember this class.

And for the record - I still hear the bell.

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

Lock It or Lose It

WTVT Fox 13 News did a feature story Tuesday evening on Lakeland's "Lock It or Lose It" campaign this holiday season. This link will take to you their website where you can see the printed story and link to the video.

We continue to encourage everyone to lock their cars while shopping, hide valuable left inside the car to keep they out of sight, and park in well lit areas. A few simple crime prevention acts can keep your holiday season from being ruined this year.

Remember... Lock It or Lose It!

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

Reflections from a Candlelight Remembrance Vigil

From time to time I take the opportunity to use our blog to share some thoughts, often introspective, about the job of a law enforcement officer. Such a posting is appropriate for this Sunday morning.

My wife and I were blessed this week with the opportunity to attend the recent Candlelight Remembrance Vigil hosted by the Polk County chapter of MADD - Mothers Against Drunk Driving. This annual event, held ever December, allows family and friends of victims of drunk driving crashes to come together and remember their loved ones during the holiday season. It is a remembrance of lives tragically lost from a senseless violent crime.

Law enforcement agencies are always in attendance of these vigils. We go to honor the victims and offer support to the families left grasping to understand why their loved one had to die at the hands of a drunk driver. Though the investigation may be over and the court case concluded, we still feel connected with the families and believe joining them at vigils is one way of saying we remember your loved ones, too.

Cops are fairly tough on the outside, often hiding our emotions from others as a way of dealing with the stress of our jobs. Having said that, you may notice misty eyes if you gaze at the officers attending a vigil and even catch a glimpse of a tear streaking down a cheek. And if you look deeper into our eyes, you will see the resolve each officer has to do everything possible to prevent another similar tragedy from impacting one more family in Polk County.

That is why law enforcement agencies are increasing patrols this holiday season looking for impaired drivers. Drivers in Lakeland should know we have DUI Enforcement Officers working every night in an effort to detect and arrest drunk drivers. Extra patrols are planned for the remainder of the month, including a comprehensive DUI Saturation Patrol on Friday, December 21, 2007. You can read the entire media release here as well.

We remain committed to delivering on a promise "Over the Limit. Under Arrest." It's the least we can do for the victims and their families.

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

Lakeland Police Move Toward CALEA Reaccreditation

CALEA assessors concluded their onsite assessment of the Lakeland Police Department on Wednesday with a favorable recommendation to the entire Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies to reaccredit the Department. The Commission will review the assessors' findings and recommendation at their next meeting in March 2008 and render a decision at that time. We expect to be reaccredited at that time.

Assessors from left to right: Ms. Portia Swinson, Mr. Daniel Bruno, and Mr. Jack O'Donnell.

We appreciate the members of the public who attended the public hearing on Monday evening and spoke of the police department's work in the community. Your words of support were both heart-warming and reassuring. Thank you for taking time from your busy schedules to deliver your comments directly to the assessors.

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

Lakeland Police Present "Do the Right Thing" Awards for December 2007

The Lakeland Police Department honored five local students during a quarterly "Do the Right Thing" awards ceremony at the police station this week.

Students were recognized for exceptional acts of character, positive citizenship, and expectional ethical behavior in situations where it would be just as easy to look the other way and not get involved.

Mr. Otis Anthony, Senior Director of Minority Relations with the Polk County School Board, was the keynote speaker for the ceremony.

Here's a listing of the students receiving DTRT awards this month.

Luv Allen - is a 6th grader at Blake Academy. During October, a student brought a gun onto the campus of Blake Academy. Many students were aware the gun was on campus, but no one reported it. Luv saw the gun in the student's backpack and told a teacher what she had observed. For doing the right thing in this situation with potentially dangerous consequences, Luv Allen was the overall DTRT winner for December!

Tariq Cowart and Wayde McClanahan - are 3rd graders at Dixieland Elementary School. Wayde witnessed a bicycle belonging to a school patrol student being stolen from the school. He attempted to intervene and prevent the theft, but the student continued away with the bicycle. Wayde and Tariq chased after the culprit to Dobbins Park where the student dropped the bicycle and fled on foot. Wayde and Tariq returned the bicycle to the school and notified the administrative office of the theft. Congratulations guys for getting involved and preventing someone else from losing their bicycle!

Joan Perez - is a 7th grader at Southwest Middle School. She observed a crumpled up piece of paper at school and took the time to check out what she thought was suspicious. Inside the paper was a $100 bill. Knowing the money did not belong to her, Joan turned the money into the front office. While it would have been easy to keep the money, Joan did the right thing in hopes of returning the money to the rightful owner. Thank you Joan for doing the right thing here!

Ryne Watkins - is a 5th grader at Southwest Elementary School. During the 06-07 school year, Ryne became a driving force behind a program at Southwest to collect pennies from the community to purchase soft-body armor for a police K-9 in Polk County. He gave up birthday money, collected change from family, friends, and neighbors and even asked businesses near his home to put out change jars to gather support from the community. His donations inspired other students to do their best in the project. Thank you Ryne for being so thoughtful and caring to help protect a police K-9!

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

Weekly Crime Map for December 3 - 9, 2007

Here is the weekly crime map of significant events for the period of Crime Map - 12/03 to 12/09.
Our thanks to Chuck at LakelandLocal.com for producing the map.

- Asst Chief Bill LePere