Would crime watch deter burglars...or buyers?

If you live in one of the safest communities in the country, is it necessary to form a neighborhood watch program and install signs letting burglars know they’re being watched?

Former Mayor George Spoll doesn’t think so.

Country Club Shores residents’ concerns about boat thefts that occurred in their canals over the summer triggered an October discussion and request for a possible neighborhood watch program, which would allow them to post crime watch signs in their community.

Deputy Police Chief Frank Rubino informed those residents last month that a state statute requires them to form an official crime watch to obtain signs.

Spoll, though, thinks more formal groups and the signs that come with them are a bad idea.

“When people and potential future buyers drive into your neighborhood on Longboat Key, do you think neighborhood crime watch signs are going to make them have a good feeling about the community?” Spoll said. “No. It’s going to make them think there’s a crime problem.”

Spoll said he believes crime issues, like the Country Club Shores boat thefts, can be handled more discreetly.

“You talk to the police chief, and they put more patrols in your neighborhood,” Spoll said. “That’s the way we’ve always done it, and it works well.”

Police officers already have unofficial crime watches in many neighborhoods. They attend neighborhood association meetings Key-wide to assist residents with ways to look for crime and meet residents who keep their eyes out for issues.

“We’re here to support the community and its efforts to keep this one of the safest communities out there. That’s never going to change.”

— Deputy Chief Frank Rubino

“We’ve always done something with communities, just not in an official capacity,” Rubino said. “It’s always our philosophy to work with the communities on the Key and know who the eyes and ears of the communities are.”

Rubino doesn’t think crime watch signs are negative to a community.

“I’ve seen crime watch signs in both wealthy and rundown communities,” Rubino said.

So far, though, no Longboat Key communities have taken the police department up on its offer to assist in forming a neighborhood crime watch.

Country Club Shores resident Bob Gault, who proposed crime watch signs to Commissioner Lynn Larson in October, said the concept is on hold for now.

“Our main focus at this time in the burying of the utilities in the neighborhoods,” Gault said.

The concept is also likely simmering because boat thefts have also dwindled.

No boat thefts on the Key have been reported since June, when a Grady White boat was stolen in the 500 block of Outrigger Lane. 

A citizen helped thwart another boat theft after calling police Aug. 24, on Ranger Lane. 

Rubino urges residents to continue letting police know if they see anything suspicious. 

“We’re here to support the community and its efforts to keep this one of the safest communities out there,” Rubino said. “That’s never going to change.”