Call for Neighborhood Patrols

Ted Cover, who leads Citizen Patrol, says the trends call for increased Patrols:

We need patrol team volunteers for the remaining weeks of March, all of April, and all of May. I've been lax in getting patrols on the street. My fault. It's time to get serious about the patrol. We've seen a decrease in reported incidents in Lake Sarasota for last February. Even so, there is a disturbing trend--we're having more burglaries and break-ins. While a patrol most likely will not be in on an arrest, the patrol's visible presence is a deterrent. The sight of a patrol vehicle may convince someone contemplating a theft or break-in that it might be a better idea to go somewhere else.

Most of the incidents over the past year have occurred during the daylight hours. Nighttime incidents are rare--maybe one or two a year. With Daylight Savings Time now in effect, patrolling in the early evening hours might result in greater visibility.

Please take a look at your calendar over the next two months, and see if you have a couple of hours available to take a two-hour patrol with your partner. You'll be doing our neighborhood a great service. Let me know by return E-mail when you can take a patrol. I'll get the patrol notebook, magnetic signs and other material to you within 24 hours of the start of your patrol.

Ted Cover, Citizens Patrol
Lake Sarasota Community Group