INSIDE the Lakeland Police Department

Should the Police "Follow" You?

One of the many changes we are seeing with the emergence of social media is how virtual and actual relationships are established and maintained. These changes fit well into our community policing philosophy of partnerships with the community, in this case the social media community. We now have hundreds of followers, some from all over the country, who are interested in our media releases and informational blog postings. We are appreciative of their interest in LakelandPD.

But should we be "following" them?

For many people, the thought of the police following them (such as while driving down the road) generally produces panic, fear, and sweaty palms. And to now have the police follow you on Twitter or Facebook or via blogs, well, I wonder where should we draw the line between social interaction with the community and respect of one's personal space?

We follow a couple dozen entities on Twitter, mostly businesses or organizations in our community with whom we have a professional or personal relationship. Of course we follow numerous police agencies also to get ideas and keep up with what our peers are doing, but we do not automatically follow everyone who follows us. Some police agencies follow many more in their community under the auspices of maintaining a more open relationship with residents and businesses. The decision as to who we choose to follow is really on a case by case basis.

Now I realize that privacy is almost non-existent in the social media realm. We put stuff out there knowing others are likely going to see and read it, all with the realization that we can somewhat restrict who sees our posts, updates, and profiles on Twitter and Facebook.

So I ask this question to get a deeper understanding from our social media community - how would you react if you got notice that LakelandPD wanted to follow you on Twitter?

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

Lakelanders Helping Fellow Lakelanders

While I was driving around Lake Hollingsworth at lunch time today, two women were walking around the west side of the lake when one of them twisted her ankle and fell to the ground. Witnessing her fall and not get up, I turned my police car around and drove back to see if I could render any aid or assistance.

In the time it took me to turn around, and I'm talking moments - not minutes, three other cars and two walkers were stopping to see if they could help the woman who fell. I thought that was pretty impressive and really illustrates what makes Lakeland such a great community - people care for each other here in our town.

The woman is fine and will be okay once her twisted ankle stops swelling and begins to heal. In the mean time, I want to take a moment and thank the citizens who stopped to render aid. I didn't have a chance to get their names, but they deserve a pat on the back for being so quick to help someone in need when it would have been just as easy to drive by and not stop.

Well done folks!

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

Lock It or Lose It - Cases from the Weekend

In our efforts to get the word out to folks just how important it is to lock our vehicles and secure valuables left inside the passenger compartment, I thought I might summarize the "Lock It or Lose It" cases from this past weekend.

"The victim stated she parked her car in front of a business in the 800 block of N. Massachusetts Avenue between 1530 and 1600 hours, leaving the vehicle's windows down and her purse sitting on the front passenger side floor board. The vehicle was left unlocked and unsecured. The victim returned to her vehicle and discovered her purse was missing."

Hmmm, wonder why that happened...

"At approximately 1038 hours on Sunday morning, the victim left her vehicle running while she ran into a residence in the 100 block of W. Hancock Street for a moment. When she returned to the vehicle, the victim's purse was gone."

She's lucky the car wasn't stolen as well as her purse...

"The victim advised that between 1920 hours and 1940 hours, her vehicle's driver's side window was shattered and her purse was taken from the passenger side seat."

As in, left in plain view rather than secured somewhere safe like the trunk...

These are three victims from the weekend's crime report who could have prevented the theft of their purses if they had practiced the concepts of "Lock It or Lose It". Two other car burglaries occurred this weekend to locked vehicles and had car stereos taken. While these types of offenses are difficult to prevent, our other victims had a chance to take some simple precautionary measures that would have minimized their chances of becoming a crime victim.

Remember - "Lock It or Lose It!"

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

Celebrating 16 Years of Filling Playgrounds, Not Prisons

Lakeland PAL, the Police Athletic League, this evening celebrated 16 years of service to the youth in our community during their annual dinner at Tigertown. PAL's mission to fill playgrounds, not prisons, is achieved through athletic and academic programs that focus on providing opportunities for youth to engage in wholesome activities rather than less desirable ones.

The keynote speaker for this evening's dinner was retired four star general Lloyd "Fig" Newton from the United States Air Force. General Newton told the audience his story of being a young child from the small town of Ridgeland, South Carolina, and becoming the first member of his family to attend college. He went on to serve our nation as a pilot in the Air Force and eventually became a member of the distinguished Air Force Thunderbirds. General Newton noted how comfortable he was addressing the audience in a hangar where pilots from Great Britain and the United States trained during World War II.

General Newton had a message for the PAL kids in attendance - to dream of what you want to do and accomplish in life and then set specific goals, in fact to write them down, in order to achieve your dreams. He reminded the kids that goals require hard work and dedication if we want to achieve them.

Chief of Police Roger Boatner thanked the many PAL staff members and volunteers who make our program such a success and gave recognition to the Lakeland City Commission who continues to provide funding so Lakeland PAL can carry on serving the youth in our community.

PAL's athletic programs include football, basketball, track and field, baseball, and cheerleading. Academic programs, such as after school tutoring at Simpson Park help students excel in school, while the Youth Directors leadership program shows aspiring leaders the importance of giving service back to one's community.

Congratulations to Lakeland PAL for 16 outstanding years of service and thank you for your commitment to the youth of Lakeland.

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

"Stop, Drop, and Roll"

For what seems like the umpteenth time this year, I recently reviewed several daily crime reports and noted a series of vehicle burglaries where the victims left purses or cell phones or laptops or other valuable pieces of electronics in plain view. You know the story by now - the victim returns to their vehicle and is shocked to discover their items left carelessly on the seat have been stolen.

We continue to preach the message that everyone needs to lock their vehicles and secure valuables or risk losing them, but I fear the message merely falls on deaf ears for the most part.

And then I got to wondering with the immediacy of social media, is there a way for law enforcement agencies to get the word out so a phrase like "Lock It or Lose It" can become an equivalent to the fire department's infamous phrase "stop, drop, and roll."

It seems like every elementary school student quickly learns the basics of what to do should your clothing catch on fire - you stop running, drop to the ground, and roll over numerous times to put out the flames. Pretty simply stuff.

So why is it so difficult to get people to remember a basic crime prevention strategy?

Any ideas or suggestions as to how we might be able to make "Lock It or Lose It" go viral through today's social media world and maybe prevent some of these vehicle burglaries?

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

CPA on the Shooting Range

One of the highlights for participants in the annual Citizens Police Academy is the Saturday morning session at the LPD Training Center where they visit with some of our Special Operations equipment, watch a K-9 demonstration, and get to shoot a police handgun. The 2009 CPA got to experience the thrill of training on the firing range this past Saturday.

   

Under the watchful eye of our Rangemaster, Officer Mark Patterson (center photo above), the class "sent some lead down range" toward paper training targets. For some members of the class, this was the first time they have ever shot a weapon. I am told a few of the classmates are pretty good shots!

More important than simply being able to fire a handgun, the class learned first-hand what officers go through with our ongoing firearms training and the skills required to maintain proficiency with our weapons.

The year's Citizens Police Academy is scheduled to graduate on November 19th.

- Asst Chief Bill LePere
 
 
 
 

LakelandPD Celebrates Two Well-Deserved Retirements

We celebrated a couple of well-deserved retirements late last week as two of our long-tenured members retired from our department.

Captain Tom Day ended his 32-year career with LakelandPD with a celebration event on Thursday, and Ms. Connie Bowman retired on Friday with over 30 years of service to our community.

      

As for Captain Day, he was well known in Lakeland for his commitment to physical fitness and competitions. Tom was the driving force behind our highly successful Police Olympics teams and our running teams in annual events like the Corporate Cup Run. He also had a special place in his heart for the Olympians of the Special Olympics as he coordinated our annual Torch Run. Tom served in every bureau of our department, with his last assignment being as a Patrol Captain and SWAT Commander, having been a former SWAT and K-9 Officer. He plans to continue his drive for physical fitness by participating in a couple of international triathlons. We wish him well.

Ms. Bowman was one of those members whose work behind the scenes as an Administrative Assistant to the Assistant Chiefs helped keep our department moving. She was my assistant for six wonderful years, through which she kept me on time and on task. Her 30-year career started in our Records Section, but Ms. Bowman worked as an Assistant to many of our former Assistant Chiefs over the years. I first met Ms. Bowman when I applied to become an Auxiliary Police Officer in 1980, never realizing that one day I would have the privilege of working so closely with her. Rumor has it she will be taking extras trips to the beach now to get some of that wonderful Florida sand in between her toes!

Both of these retirees will remain part of our extended LPD family. We wish them well in their retirements and look forward to many return visits to the police station whenever they want ot come back and see old friends.

- Asst Chief Bill LePere