The Cape Coral Police Department reported a 22 percent decrease in felony crime within the CRA through 2010.
Capt. Lisa Barnes said the partnership between the CCPD and the CRA helped to facilitate the decrease.
“I think 2010 was a good year for the Cape Coral Police Department and the CRA. I think we worked well together and the result was a decrease in crime,” Barnes added.
Areas highlighted by Barnes included:
n A reduction in reported robberies, with 11 in 2009 and 5 in 2010. Barnes said there was no specific pattern with the robberies, but could have been drug related.
n Commercial burglaries remained roughly the same between 2009, 15 robberies, and 2010, 14 robberies. Four of the 2010 robberies were cleared by arrest, five are pending, one was closed due to lack of cooperation and four are still active.
n Bares said there was a “substantial” decrease in stolen vehicles in 2010, as only six were reported. There 14 reported stolen vehicles in 2009. Of the six vehicles reported stolen last year, two were cleared by arrest and four are still pending.
Although there are no plans to reinstitute them at the moment, Barnes said last year’s foot patrols gave officers the chance to better know the CRA, but also “mend some fences” with business owners who felt their clientele were falling prey to predatory actions by CCPD.
“They’ve had a good relationship with the entertainment businesses. We’ve had a good year,” Jack Evans said. Evans, a CRA Board member, owns Leapin’ Lizard, one of the businesses that accused the police of targeting its clientele.
Board member Frank Dethlefsen helped to organize a coalition of police officers and business owners to address the issue. Dethelfsen is happy with the results thus far.
“It was the business partners wanting to work with the police department and it really worked out well,” he added.
Officer Gerald Moll said he’s been making efforts to assist the CRA’s growing homeless population, attempting to educate them about resources available to them.
Moll said it does no good to continually arrest them for open containers or other violations if he’s not educating them about those services.
Moll said he’s identifying at least two new homeless people each day.
“If anything, the data that’s been put together and the names brought forward have really opened up some eyes,” Moll added.