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Taking A Bite Out Of Crime

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By SHERRI LONON IN THE LOOP

The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 28, 2009

Visitors who drive through Wesley Chapel's Lexington Oaks subdivision might get the impression they're being watched. Thanks to an organized group of volunteers, those visitors would be right.

The community's Crime Watch Patrol was founded several years ago and now consists of a team of more than 35 regular volunteers. Residents who take part in the crime watch patrol serve in several different ways. Some take shifts patrolling the community. Other volunteers work as dispatchers for those out on the roads at night, taking their calls for assistance and routing them to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office if necessary.

"We're out there until the sun comes up, and sometimes beyond," said Sam Fulciniti, president and founder of the organization.

Although Lexington Oaks didn't have an extraordinary crime problem in the past, Fulciniti said the 1,509-home community did have its share of small issues. To take a more proactive stance, residents approached the homeowners association and the sheriff's office for assistance in organizing crime fighting efforts. The patrol resulted.

In addition to patrolling, the group updates residents on crimes within the community and shares information about crime prevention.

"The sheriff's office is focused on prevention," explained Frank Turturro, vice president of Lexington Oaks' group. "They want everyone to be informed."

To this end, crime watch patrol members keep their eyes open for things their neighbors can do to help prevent them from being targeted. For example, if a homeowner leaves a garage door open at night, a patrol member might leave a door hanger notifying them of the oversight and the fact it could be an open invitation for thieves.

"Sometimes people need to be reminded," Turturro said.

The group also puts prevention information into the community's newsletter and keeps residents apprised of crime trends and statistics.

Volunteer efforts like the one undertaken by Lexington Oaks are vital to the sheriff's office, said Cpl. Dan Dede.

"You have to appreciate with the way the population has grown in Pasco County, crime is going to grow," he said. "As great a job as our deputies do, we can't be everywhere all the time. They (patrols) become the eyes and the ears of the sheriff's office."

Dede said the sheriff's office oversees two different programs that can help neighbors keep a better eye on each other. The crime watch patrol requires residents to physically go out and look for trouble in a community. When it is found, volunteers don't get personally involved. Instead, they call a dispatcher, as in Lexington Oaks' case, who then calls the sheriff's office. The other option is a Neighborhood Crime Watch, which is no less organized, but doesn't necessarily require regular patrols and can be tailored for almost any size neighborhood.

Both programs, Dede said, do come with sheriff's office support and training. Volunteers in each are given instruction on what they can and cannot do under the law. They are also provided with materials for members, stickers, signs and even magnetic patrol signs to affix on car doors in the case of crime watch patrols.

"Security patrols require a commitment from the people to put in a certain amount of time to go out and actually patrol the community," Dede said. "We teach them the dos and don'ts - things like don't carry a firearm."

Residents who are interested in learning more about starting their own patrols or crime watches can contact Barbara Reilly in the citizens support services office for more information at (727) 834-3376.

Fulciniti said he's proud of the stance Lexington Oaks has taken against crime. He also recommends other communities get involved in similar efforts.

When residents get something going it lets the "bad guys know we're watching them like they're watching us," he said. "This is probably one of the best programs a community could ever have."

More information on crime prevention and crime prevention programs can be found on the sheriff's office's Web site at pascosheriff.com.

Editor Sherri Lonon can be reached at (813) 948-4287 or slonon@mediageneral.com.

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