The Lake Sarasota Community Blog

Residents of Lake Sarasota have requested a meeting with several County services. The intention is to focus quite tightly on matters of community safety and counteracting bad actors (by which we do not mean Tom Cruise). The question is how as a neighborhood we can better work with existing resources - the County, Sheriff, Parks and Rec, and more to improve the quality and safety of Lake Sarasota. County Neighborhood Services, Law Enforcement, and someone from Parks and Rec will be on hand. We wish to discuss a range of options including: 1. Seeking a neighborhood grant to place motion-detecting cameras at strategic locations; 2. Learning the formal procedure for contacting banks and landlords whose property is in disrepair, housing criminal activity, or inhabited by squatters; 3. Reviewing proactive resident measures such as Citizen Patrol; 4. Designing a better and more strategic line of communications with the Sheriff, Code Enforcement, Parks, and other County resource...

There were eleven incidents:  five acts of vandalism; two burglaries; two thefts; and three juvenile disturbances.  Here is the breakdown.   Vandalism:  5 incidents        Tues. 9/9   6565 Samoa Dr.;  reported 6:24 a.m.      Tues. 9/9   6770 Mauna Loa;  reported 7:29 a.m.     Wed. 9/24 4033 Lancaster; reported  9:25 p.m.     Thurs. 9/25 4050 Lancaster; reported  7:21 p.m.     Sun. 9/28  7150 Lago; reported  6:04 p.m.                       Note:  7150 Lago is Lakeview Park   Burglary:  2 incidents       Sun. 9/21  3891 Wake; reported 12:06 a.m.     Tues. 9/23  6288 Jarvis Rd.; reported 4:22 p.m.   Theft:  2 incidents ...

Ted shared the Sheriff Dept.'s crime report for January, which showed very few reported incidents: There were three reported incidents: two acts of vandalism and one burglary. There were no thefts or juvenile disturbances.  The vandalism incidents were: Mon. Jan. 6 at 6921 Friendship Dr. (reported 4:35 p.m.) Wed. Jan. 29 at 7150 Lago St. (reported 6:33 a.m.) The burglary occurred Sat. Jan. 11 at 4042 Palau Dr. (reported 12:50 a.m.)  While the small number of incidents is something to celebrate, it makes difficult the establishment of any patterns of day of week, time of day, or location.  As soon as I can. I'll compile the 2013 data.

The Lake Sarasota Crime Report by Ted Coverr for 12.13 The Dec. 2013 Sheriff's Dept. Crime Report for Lake Sarasota reports a total of seven incidents:  one vandalism, two burglaries, and four thefts (two AUTO and two UNKNOWN). The single act of Vandalism occurred Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 7150 Lago St., reported at  7:27 a.m. The two burglaries occurred three days apart, Monday, Dec. 2 and Wednesday, Dec. 5, and were at:             6515 Mauna Loa Blvd. (12/2, reported  5:28 p.m. )             7214 Java Dr.  (12/5, reported 7:01 p.m.) The four thefts occurred as follows:         Fri., Dec. 6   7004 Jarvis Rd. (AUTO, reported 7:50 a.m.)         Fri., Dec. 20 3975 Coleridge Dr. (AUTO, reported 11:51 a.m.)    ...

From Ted: The June 2013 crime report shows a sharp increase of incidents compared to May 2013.  There is a "however", though. The crime report lists the following:  four vandanism incidents, one burglary, five thefts (auto contents or unknown), and two juvenile disturbances, for a total of twelve incidents. Now, for the "however".  There are two reports of vandalism and one repoted theft for the same address (4060 Palau Drive).  The theft and one incident of vandalism were reported on the 27th at  5:34 p.m. and 7:26 p.m.   A second incident of vandalism was reported at  12:13 a.m.  on the 28th.  I suspect that this was all one incident, but the homeowner reported one act of vandalism on discovery, then the theft when noticed several hours later; then the second act of vandalism when inspecting the original damage and theft. The two juvenile disturbances occurred on the west side of Lake Sarasota, on Honolulu and Waikiki on  June 3 ,...

For non-emergency situations: If you spot something in the neighborhood that looks suspicious, or poses a potential safety or security issue, you can let the Sheriff's Office know by calling 941-316-1201 . In emergencies of course call 911.

Ted sent this report: Here is the synopsis of the Sheriff's Dept. report for March.  There were a total of seven incidents as follows:  Vandalism: 4006 Hina Dr. (3/18, 7:19 p.m.) (Monday) 7316 Mauna Loa Dr. (3/24, 2:17 p.m.) (Sunday) Burglary: 6254 Kahana Dr. (3/8, 11:43 a.m.) (Friday) 7051 Jarvis Rd. (3/22, 11:58 a.m.) (Friday) Theft (all auto): 3967 Eton Pl. (3/1, 7:10 p.m.) (Friday) 4117 Lancaster Dr. (3/26, 8:30 a.m.) (Tuesday) 4117 Lancaster Dr. (3/27, 3:20 p.m.) (Wednesday) Analysis: Six incidents occurred in the east section of Lake Sarasota, centering on Middlesex Pl. One incident occurred in the west section, on Kahana Dr.  This coincides with previous incidents over past years--most incidents occur in a east central "corridor." Also, the pattern of dates holds--most incidents occur in the first week or last week of the month. Times reported also fit the pattern experienced over the past several years--noon to...

Ted sends this analysis of the Sheriff's crime report: Here is the breakdown on the Sheriff's Dept. Crime Report for Lake Sarasota for Dec. 2011. Total Number of Incidents:  11 Vandalism:  0 Burglaries:   7 Thefts:        4 Juvenile Disturbances:  0 Incidents by day of the week:   Sunday:        2                                               Monday:        1                                          ...

This is a reminder that we are having a park clean up day this Saturday, March 26th. The clean up is being sponsored by the Sky Pilots and they need our help. As mentioned before, when we had our Lake Sarasota Community Group clean up day at the park, the Sky Pilots came out in force and helped us. It is now our turn to repay the favor. The clean up will be from 9:00 AM till 12:00 Noon,so its just 3 hours (not a full day job). There will be some food served and water will be provided for the workers. PLEASE TRY AND MAKE IT TO THE CLEAN UP! THE MORE PEOPLE THAT SHOW UP, THE FASTER AND EASIER IT IS FOR EVERYONE AND THE BETTER OUR PARK WILL LOOK WHEN WE ARE DONE. Here's one reason the park needs periodic clean-ups: the picnic tables are regularly thrown in the water, or moved, or used for bridges, or broken up. The Petanque players had a large gathering last Sunday, and they found only three picnic tables where there used to be six. Today they found only two: Because the third ...

There's been some new vandalism in Lakeview Park. It's been a while since we've had any significant issues. This time, a picnic table bench has been broken: And benches that face the lake on the point and near the pavilion have had their backs broken. This took some doing, as they are very sturdily made. Also, there's black spray paint on the door of the men's restroom, also near the pavilion. If anyone has positive information, contact lakesarasota@gmail.com.