Observe & Report: Lakewood Ranch's additional security services

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Any evening in Lakewood Ranch, visitors driving through the community may see a security patrol car cruising through sections of Summerfield, Riverwalk or Greenbrook.

They may even be asked to give their name and destination to a gatehouse guard at one of the entrances to the Lakewood Ranch Golf & Country Club.

In a community that historically has been considered low crime by Manatee County Sheriff’s Office officials, Lakewood Ranch Community Development District supervisors, at the urging of their constituents, continue to put increased security at the forefront.

Four of Lakewood Ranch’s Community Development Districts spend more than $280,000 annually, in total, on contracts with security providers for improved security within Lakewood Ranch districts.

Although these providers are not allowed to make arrests, they can work in conjunction with Manatee County Sheriff’s Office to “observe and report” crimes or suspicious activities.

CDDs 1 and 4, which includes neighborhoods in Greenbrook, Summerfield and Riverwalk, combined pay $82,680 annually for 60 and 40 hours of patrols per week, respectively.

Weekly reports from Diamond Investigations indicate the majority of the company’s work includes warding off trespassers to parks after hours and reporting burned-out lights.

CDDs 2 and 5, which includes communities within the Lakewood Ranch Golf & Country Club and Edgewater, share costs for security services at the Legacy and Edgewater gatehouses, with 346 hours of security per week costing $206,000 annually. Weekly logs submitted by the security provider, U.S. Security & Associates, indicate there have been virtually no incidents, besides broken or non-functioning gates, from Nov. 25 to Feb. 2.

In Edgewater, specifically, the guard on duty logged three instances of homes being toilet-papered, after being notified by a resident, and one instance of calling a homeowner about an unwanted guest who was entering the neighborhood at 2 a.m. One suspicious vehicle was reported and checked out, and one resident called about an unknown couple stopping by her home.

At Legacy, the guard on duty logged two instances of vehicles breaking the gate, three days in which there were problems with the gate arm, and one instance of unwanted males visiting a residence.

In CDD 6, known as Country Club West, supervisors have budgeted $50,00 for security officers at the Balmoral Way gatehouse, as well as $13,975 for gate management services and $37,391 for operation, maintenance and utility costs for the gate for Fiscal Year 2012, CDD 6 Supervisor Richard Williams said.

Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Dave Bristow said Lakewood Ranch and the surrounding East County area have statistically low incidences of crime for its population compared to other parts of the county.

Lt. Rick Gerken agreed, noting the area east of Interstate 75 has seen an overall reduction in crime every year for the last five years, but residents still should do what they can to protect themselves from becoming victims.

“It’s a safe area, but you still have to (remove) that opportunity (for criminals),” Gerken said, adding homeowners should lock their doors, among taking other safety precautions, even in gated communities.

Gerken noted security enhancements in Lakewood Ranch, such as patrols, may not stop crime altogether, but they do have an impact.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].

Deputies reassure Palm Aire residents
In the weeks and months following a string of residential and vehicle burglaries in the Palm-Aire community, the nerves of many residents have remained on edge.

But at a meeting of the Palm-Aire Communities Council Feb. 15, representatives of the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office told residents they did not need to worry. Crime in the community, they said, has been — and remains — low.

“It’s not as bad as you think,” Lt. Sandy McIver said, pointing to a map of crime incidents in the area over the last 60 days. “I wish all my zones looked like this.”

In mid-October, two homes and four vehicles, all on Inverness Drive and West Country Club Drive, were burglarized. The suspect(s) stole items such as a GPS, iPod, sunglasses and other items from the vehicles, and more than $10,000 worth of music and recording equipment from one of the homes. Burglars attempted to remove a television from the kitchen of the second residence, as well.

Additionally, three homes on Treymore Court were burglarized Dec. 24, among other recent incidents.
Suspects in some of the burglaries have been apprehended, while others have not.

The Sheriff’s Office in 2011 made 497 arrests for burglaries and deputies responded to an average of 700 to 900 calls daily throughout the county.

Deputy Alan Fifield, who provides home-security checks and offers presentations on crime prevention, said even in low-crime areas, individuals should take steps to secure their homes and remove opportunity for criminals. Individuals should be sure to remove valuables from their vehicles at night, use their security systems and take other precautions to help keep them from becoming victims of crime.

“You have to add extra protection to your house,” he said. “Our criminals are lazy. They’re looking for opportunity.”

Individuals can visit the Sheriff’s Office website to sign up for the e-watch program, which alerts residents to certain crimes near their home or business and passes along information on crime prevention programs, photos of missing persons and more.

They also can look at the location of crimes in relation to their homes through the sheriff office’s crime mapping tool found at www.crimemapping.com/map/fl/manateecounty.

For more information about the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, visit www.manateesheriff.com.

FAST FACTS

CRIME STATS
Figures listed are for major crimes, such as robbery, burglary, aggravated assault and more.

For North 70 (Area from I-75 east to Lorraine Road and from State Road 70 north the to river):
2010: 311 crimes
2011: 303 crimes
2012: 31 crimes (compared to 34 as of Feb. 11 for same time period in 2011)

North 80 (Area from I-75 east to Lorraine Road and from State Road 70 south to University Parkway):
2010: 311
2011: 230
2012: 18 crimes (compared to 18 as of Feb. 11 for same time period in 2011)

BY COMPARISON
Historically, one of the highest crime rate areas in Manatee County is known as West 30. Total crime there decreased from 1,048 to 1,032 incidents for 2010 compared to 2011, Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Dave Bristow said.

In the area known as East 40, located just west of North 70 and North 80, which includes areas such as Creekwood, Braden River High School and other areas farther west, total crime increased from 378 to 401 from 2010 to 2011.

In the area known as East 50, located just south of East 40, and adjacent to N70 and N80, and which includes sections of Tara and other neighborhoods, incidents of crime dropped from 831 in 2010 to 737 in 2011.

Inside The Reports
Below are excerpts from the logs kept by Diamond Investigations in Lakewood Ranch CDD 1.

Dec. 19, 2011: Gator in lake by Information Center is concerning some park visitors. Vehicle with plate No. AQQ L52 is at the park every night. We believe it may be responsible for dealing drugs.

Dec. 24, 2011: Observed motorcycle driving at a high rate of speed going down the sidewalk. He saw me and parked bike on the sidewalk. I informed him that the sidewalk was for pedestrians and asked him to not continue driving on the sidewalk. He told me he did not have a rear fender on his bike and the sprinklers were spraying the roads.

Dec 28, 2011: Caught four college-aged youths smoking dope behind tennis courts. Approached them and told them I will be calling the Sheriff’s Office unless they leave immediately. They complied.