Is One Police Officer Enough?

Even Mayberry had two, Andy Taylor and Barney Fife.  One of the main responsibilities of a municipality is taking reasonable measures to provide for the safety and security of it's residents.  If the city is not able to do this adequately with the high taxes and fees it charges it's residents, then there is a problem.

In tough economic times criminal minds get restless and desperate.  If no one is guarding the hen house, eventually, the fox will find his way in.  For those of us who have lived here a good long while, we know that Polk City has not always been a sleepy, tranquil town with a low crime rate.  Polk City has had it's share of drug issues, vandalism, burglaries, speeders down 33, and is still home to several registered sex offenders and predators?  There are 22 of these individuals within a 5 mile radius of City Hall.  Here is a link to see where these individuals are located: FDLE Sexual Offender and Predator Search

I understand that Vice Mayor/Acting City Manager Trudy Block has been in touch with Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd regarding our lack of police presence.  Hopes are that the Sheriff's Department will voluntarily take up the slack where the city has left off.  I'm not so sure this is happening as well as city officials believe.  For instance, over the weekend of September 11th & 12th, some residents had voiced concerns over safety issues at the park with the possibility of large numbers of people showing up to sign the petition.  We took it upon ourselves to contact the Sheriff's Department to see what coverage was in place in the area, if a need would have come up.  We were informed that based on where the closest officers were positioned, in Auburndale and North Lakeland, it would not have been possible for even an occasional drive by if the officer was not busy on a call.  Special arrangements were made, per our request, to reposition some officers to make an occasional drive by possible, just in case.

It is not common knowledge that later in the afternoon on Saturday, the 11th, close to 4:15 PM, we were still accepting signatures at the park because the people kept coming.  We witnessed an accident that occurred at the intersection of Berkley Road and Citrus Grove Blvd (corrected).  A teen had been riding his bike across the street when his bike chain fell off.  He lost control of his bike and hit the side of a vehicle passing by.  Luckily he was not seriously injured, but we did not know the extent of his injuries at the time.  He was obviously in pain, looked like he was going into shock, had a tire mark on his face and shoulder, and had several open wounds.  I made the call to 911 as soon as I heard the tires squeal and realized someone had been hit.  An ambulance showed up fairly quickly.  I would estimate it at about 5-10 minutes.  They were wonderful.  In the meantime, I contacted the teen's mother and a she was on her way.  The EMT's had the teen in the ambulance when his mother arrived.  They waited a few minutes to give her time to talk to him before they departed to the hospital.  Then the witnesses remained behind to wait for the Sheriff's Department to show up to write their report.  And waited, and waited, and waited.  Approximately 45-50 minutes after the initial call to 911, a patrol car showed up, and another one arrived shortly after that.  Even with special arrangements being made to have an officer closer than normally positioned, it took almost an hour before the first officer arrived!  Not very comforting.

What would happen if the bank or local store was being robbed, your house being broken into, you were being car jacked, or two emergencies occurred in the city at the same time?  I know these are not pleasant thoughts, but if the one Polk City Police Officer was off duty or busy, you would probably be on your own for quite some time unless a fellow citizen happened to witness it and stepped in to help.  Again, not very comforting.

I understand that cutting back on police protection was a cost cutting measure done by the city to help free up some funds to pay the bills.  But, if the city cannot afford to provide adequate police protection, the city is not performing one it it's primary responsibilities to the public.  If the city is dissolved, the Sheriff's Department is responsible for providing adequate coverage.  With more resources and more funding due to the larger population and tax base as a whole, they are obviously better equipped to provide these basic services to this area than one city police officer scheduled for 40 hours a week.  The city's tax base is far too small to continue operations as is.  How long can this charade continue before something really bad happens?