Hot beds of crime...

Lieutenant White of the Lake Worth Police Department presented some interesting information regarding sources of crime within the city. This was during our Citizen Observation Patrol (COP) meeting last Wednesday night. The discussion began being centered around areas of the City where we should focus our patrols. A few locations were discussed and soon the discussion turned to the prevalence of prostitutes along our major thoroughfares. Besides the usual services provided, Lieutenant White indicated that these people are usually involved in drugs and are to blame for some of our break-ins. He said that whenever the police can identify a vacant, unsecured house, they know that they can count a localized crime wave within a certain radius of that vacant structure (431 N. L Street was one of them until the bottom floor was secured by the City).

Many female prostitutes serve as look outs for their male counterparts during burglaries. Lieutenant White reminded us that whenever we someone walking the streets here, they have to lay their head down somewhere. He also said that Lake Worth's lower quality housing stock and relative affordability make it the first place that convicts released from prison come to reside.

So, please be aware of any vacant house that you have in your neighborhood and monitor it for unauthorized entry.

Now for a couple of my own observations. Last week, I entered into a conversation with a gentleman, about 30 years old, at a local establishment. I asked him what he did and where he lived. He said that he had been in prison for the past year and was just released last Saturday. He said he was living at 13th Avenue North and Federal.

Last year, when I was canvassing neighborhoods during my campaign, I came across many instances when I thought I was knocking on a door of a "super voter". When the door was opened and I greeted the resident, more than three times I was greeted with "I just got out of jail." That "super voter" that had lived there and voted in all municipal elections had either died or moved away from Lake Worth. Think about the impact that has on the city over the long term. We lose people who were actively engaged in the local goings on enough to vote in every election to a situation where we now house people that make a habit out of violating laws.

Another rental residence that I happen to be familiar with is another variation of this. This is an older 2-1 single family structure that is within a block of Dixie Hwy. For a while now, it has gone vacant. Recently, a group of younger men moved in - who represented to the landlord that they were actually a single mother with two children. For at least two weeks, they lived there without power since they didn't have the money to turn on the utilities. They gather in their lawn to "party" - usually drinking "jumbos" of malt liquor. When things get rolling, they involve the passing street people over to partake in the "fun". Walking by the property when this is going on is intimidating and, if they aren't kicked out soon, I am afraid these gatherings will be the source of more random crime incidents.

The bottom line here is that Lake Worth is in a competitive marketplace within Palm Beach County and the region as a whole. We need to take every opportunity to upgrade and maintain our housing stock, increase employment opportunities and keep our eyes/ears open within our neighborhoods to staunch the attractiveness of our community to the criminal element.