Crime up 7.5 percent overall

By Fallan Patterson
Staff Writer

While the state’s overall violent crime index for the first six months of 2010 was down nearly 5 percent, Kissimmee’s index rose 27.9 percent and crime overall in Osceola County rose 7.5 percent.

Capt. Warren Shepard of the Kissimmee Police Department, who leads the department’s monthly crime statistics meetings, said his fellow officers work to prevent crime in the city through various methods, including following up with released inmates; implementing intelligence-led policy, which encompasses community involvement; and increasing patrols in higher crime areas.

“We’re constantly trying and testing new strategies out,” Shepard said.

Shepard said he sees the high unemployment rate and down economy as factors for the rise in certain calls for service, including domestic violence, battery and property theft crimes.

According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s semi-annual report, Kissimmee from January through the end of June had nearly 400 burglary cases, 92 simple assault cases, 243 aggravated assault cases and 97 vehicle thefts.

“The Central Florida area is at a crossroads. We’re not the sleepy area that we were,” Shepard said. “We see some theft and out-and-out fraud in hard economic times.”

Shepard said the city’s “See It, Say It” campaign to increase crime reporting by residents could also play a factor in the number of crimes reported.

“I think more people are willing to speak with us and we’re doing a more in-depth canvass,” Shepard said. “People feel at ease to call the police.”

However, solving crimes is not as easy as having them reported. For example, of the 392 burglary cases Kissimmee reported for the first half of 2010, only 21 arrests were made.

Shepard is quick to point out some victims refuse to press charges or the evidence just isn’t available.

“If there’s a case where we have absolutely no leads, if we don’t have fingerprints or a witness, it’s harder to solve,” he said.

The other major law enforcement departments in Osceola County fared better.

St. Cloud’s violent crime index was down 2.2 percent for the same period and the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office’s had no change in its crime index.

“The report shows we are making progress in reducing crime in some areas of the community and provides us information to help us focus our resources on those areas where there is greater concern,” Sheriff Bob Hansell said. “We take proactive enforcement steps, which include enhancing intelligence and crime analysis to better track crime trends, increasing personnel in enforcement areas and re-allocating resources where there are areas of greatest concern.”

Both police departments and the Sheriff’s Office combined trumped the state’s average for cases cleared by 10 percent; 24.6 percent of all cases in Florida were cleared while Osceola County law enforcement cleared 34 percent.

“The report indicates we are clearing one out of every three cases (and) shows we are aggressively working to solve those crimes that are reported,” Hansell said. “We will continue to use the best law enforcement resources available to use to minimize those impacts on our citizens and the community.”

St. Cloud Police Chief Pete Gauntlett said crime is down more than 14 percent in the past 18 months in his city and the department continues to lower the index by holding strategy meetings, implementing an internal crime division and redeploying patrols to problem areas.

“We’re focused diligently,” he said. “(Our index) will end up being better than that at year’s end.”

Gauntlett cited property crimes such as burglary, both commercial and residential, and theft as his department’s biggest problems and urges residents to hide and secure their valuables and not to leave doors and garages unlocked.

“Be ever vigilant in your neighborhood. Look after your neighbors,” Gauntlett said.