INSIDE the Lakeland Police Department

Lakeland PAL Runners Qualify for National AAU Meet

Catching up on some bits of news from around LPD and wanted to share the good news from our PAL program. Four of our young runners from the PAL track team qualified for the AAU Junior Olympics next month in Iowa!

You can read the online article from The Ledger here.

PAL's vision is to fill playgrounds rather than prisons by providing athletic and educational opportunities for youth to enjoy. The staff of PAL, including a large number of volunteers from the community, are responsible for the program's success by ensuring our youth have a diverse array of sports programs and educational tutoring to help them succeed in life. We are grateful for the many volunteer hours provided by the community.

Congratulations to the runners and good luck with your upcoming track meet.

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

School Resource Unit Annual Golf Classic

We would like to take this opportunity to invite you participate in the Lakeland Police Department's annual School Resource Unit Golf Classic. The event will be held at Grasslands Golf & Country Club on Friday, August 7, 2009. Registration is from 7:30 - 8:15 AM, with a shotgun start at 8:30 AM.

A buffet luncheon will be served following play. Awards for first place gross, first, second, and third net teams, closest to the pin and longest drive will be awarded.

Funds raised from this golf event go directly to help support our "Do The Right Thing" program, which is designed to honor children in our community who distinguish themselves through their accomplishments, attitude, or outstanding efforts.

Sponsorships are also still available should your company or organization want to make a donation in that manner. More information regarding sponsorships can be found in the attached golf brochure.

To register or for more information, contact by phone or e-mail:

Officer Wayne Skinner at 863-397-4377

Officer Jimmy Mock at 863-221-7331

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

2009 Polk County Law Enforcement Memorial

Law enforcement officers from around Polk County, including city, county, state, and federal officers, gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Lakeland this morning to honor our fallen heroes as part of National Police Memorial Week.

This was the 22nd annual memorial service sponsored by the  Polk County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #46 and the Polk County Law Enforcement Memorial Fund, Inc.

The memorial contains the names of 28 fallen heroes dating back to May 15, 1886, when W. S. Campbell, the Bartow Town Marshall, was killed in the line of duty and became the first name to be placed on the memorial.

Honoring our fallen brothers and sisters is a somber experience for any law enforcement officer. The sacrifice these officers made to make our community a safer place to live can never be forgotten.

And so we pause once a year to remember their lives, the service they gave to Polk County, and to let their surviving families know we still remember their heroes.

We encourage everyone to thank the next law enforcement officer you encounter and let them know, if just during Police Memorial Week, how much you appreciate what they do for us.

Trust me - you will make their day something special.

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

You can download the 2009 Polk County Law Enforcement Memorial slide show here.

The file is large so be patient while it loads.

Do The Right Thing Winners Announced

Today was the final quarterly ceremony of our Do the Right Thing awards program at LakelandPD. Three outstanding students were honored for their positive behavior and exceptional attitudes in school and in their community.

Our overall winner for this ceremony was Cameron Cole, a fifth grade student at Lincoln Academy. Cameron was nominated not only for his diligence in his school endeavors but also for his willingness to help others. Cameron assists with the Milken Work Festival cleaning the yards of elderly residents in our community and volunteering for VISTE by serving meals to the homeless.

Nicole Avila, a first grader at Rochelle School of the Arts, was nominated for her positive attitude and behavior in the classroom. Nicole was described as being always respectful of others, acts as a helper to her teacher, and always works hard to maintain her grades.

Daniel Williams, a third grade student at Blake Academy, was nominated for doing the right thing when he found some money laying on the ground of his school campus. Rather than keep the money himself, Daniel turned the money in with the hope that whoever lost it would be able to reclaim it. After no one inquired about the money, the school gave it to Daniel who promptly gave it to his mom to help with home expenses.

We congratulate the students honored today and want to extend a special thanks to their families for raising such wonderful children with the spirit of doing the right thing.

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

Presidents' Roundtable Honors LPD Officers of the Year

Two Lakeland Police officers were honored today during the 41st annual Presidents' Roundtable Public Safety Awards banquet.

Officer Jason Leggett was named Officer of the Year for his efforts to locate a homicide victim. Leggett received information from out of state that a suspect had made comments about killing a man in Lakeland. Based on the very limited information known at the time, Officer Leggett utilized a variety of investigative research methods to locate where the victim was found deceased. His initial efforts led to the subsequent arrest of the suspect.

Detective James O'Neill is our Detective of the Year and was awarded Honorable Mention for his investigative efforts into a reported fraud case that ultimately led to the seizure of additional drugs and money. Det. O'Neill is well known for the thoroughness of his fraud investigations. He relentlessly follows all leads and often creates more work for himself because one case generally leads to another and to another and so on.

 

We congratulate both Officer Leggett and Detective O'Neill for receiving their awards today and for their dedicated service to the community.

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

Thanking Our Volunteers

 The Staff at LakelandPD paused for an evening of fun last Friday and invited our many volunteers to a bar-b-que dinner as a small token of our appreciation for their contributions to our organization. Over 50 of our volunteers were able to attend the dinner.

 

Our community is blessed to have people so willing to give of their time to help us deliver police services to Lakeland residents. Volunteers help in a variety of ways such as serving as a victim advocate with our Victim Assistance and Domestic Abuse Response Teams, helping with leadership roles in their neighborhood associations, Citizen Police Academy Alumni who are always around the station helping with our various special events, or an untold number of other ways to help.

We thank all of volunteers for the priceless contributions they give to our community - their time, their talents and their commitment.

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

Our Behind the Scenes Heroes

There is a standing joke within our industry the only person who can tell a police officer "where to go" and get away with it is a 911 Dispatcher. There is a lot of truth to this statement.

And so it is fitting at this time for us to give recognition and tribute to our behind the scenes heroes in the 911 dispatch center at the conclusion of National Public Safety Telecommunications Week.

Our 911 Dispatchers are the first contact most people have with the police department when they call for help. Whether the call is an emergency or just someone looking for information, our Communications Center handles nearly 500,000 phone calls on an annual basis.

Our dispatchers take tremendous pride in the services they provide the community and the police officers in the field. Many folks do not know this fact, but 911 Dispatchers also provide dispatching services for the Lakeland Fire Department in addition to handling police calls for service. Their work day is anything but normal, unless you consider high stress and life-or-death decision making a normal work day!

911 Dispatchers may be behind the scenes in our 911 Communications Center, but they are truly on the front lines in our efforts to provide public safety services to the community. Our thanks to all for a job well done.

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

Gun Powder in the Morning

To paraphrase a line from the movie Apocalypse Now- "I love the smell of gun powder in the morning!" Such was the case at the LakelandPD Training Center today as the department concluded the current round of semi-annual firearms qualifications.

LPD officers qualify with their assigned firearms twice a year - a daylight qualification in the spring and a low-light qualification later in the fall. CALEA accreditation standards only call for annual firearms testing, but we require a second qualification each year to meet our stringent standards of firearms proficiency. We also conduct several firearms training sessions throughout the year that are not considered to be qualification tests.

Why do we train so much with our firearms?

Years of experience tells us that officers will respond in a crisis situation exactly as they were trained - it should be an automatic reaction to a lethal threat. We are committed to provide the best training we can possibly afford to give our officers the tactical advantage in a life-threatening situation. There are no guarantees in our business, but we want to stack the survival odds in our favor.

After all, we want the good guys to come home to their families and loved ones at the end of every tour of duty.

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

DTRT Scholarships Announced

The Lakeland Police Department's Do The Right Thing program is committed to recognizing individual youths of this community who have distinguished themselves as students through their school and community involvement, citizenship, and academic success. With this in mind, the DTRT program is offering three scholarships to seniors from local public high schools.

Two $500 cash award scholarships will be awarded to two high school seniors. One additional $500 cash award scholarship will be awarded to a high school senior pursuing a degree and/or career in the law enforcement field.

These scholarships are awarded based on the following criteria:

• academic performance
• school and community involvement
• personal statement of applicant
• exemplary citizenship

You can download the DTRT Scholarship Requirements and DTRT Scholarship Application forms in PDF format here.

The deadline for submission is soon. Application packets must be postmarked no later than Saturday, April 18, 2009. Complete instructions and address for mailing the applications on are on the forms.

Good luck!

- Asst Chief Bill LePere

LPD Open House Saturday, March 21

It's time once again for our annual Open House event, a chance for the public to visit your police department and tour behind the scenes at the police station. The Open House includes tours of the station and a display of our special operations equipment - a favorite of most visitors!

In addition to the ever popular helicopter, rescue vehicle, and SWAT equipment, we will be unveiling for the first time a new Mobile Operations Center, too.

The event will be next Saturday, March 21, 2009, from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM at the police station located at 219 N. Massachusetts Ave.

Our theme this year is gun safety. We urge everyone, particularly families with young children, to come visit and learn how you can keep firearms safely in your homes.

Admission is free and refreshments will be served. Hope to see you there next Saturday.

- Asst Chief Bill LePere