TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Residents Help Drive Out Crime

ADVERTISEMENT

By JOSE PATINO GIRONA

jpatino@tampatrib.com

Published: October 22, 2008

TAMPA HEIGHTS - While many are tucked in bed watching late-night television, a small cast of residents take on the role of anonymous crime-fighters.

As part of the police department's Mobile Patrol, they drive around the neighborhood's streets and alleys, examining each locale with the concentration of research scientists peering into microscopes.

On a recent night, Gail Smiley-Dixon, her husband, Jon Dixon, and Mike Spokas cruised in search of suspicious activity.

When something caught their attention, Smiley-Dixon slowed the car, and her husband used a flashlight to help investigate. They inspected vacant lots, the outside of boarded-up homes, alleys and empty parks.

On this night, all is clear. But the patrol members are pleased to be making a difference.

"We see change," said Smiley-Dixon, a 10-year resident. "By us calling and communicating to the (police) officers, we see things get done."

She and her husband are leading the charge and trying to recruit volunteers for the patrol, which was formed recently in Tampa Heights.

The program was spearheaded several years ago by Seminole Heights residents, said Officer Jason DeGagne, a crime prevention officer.

Participants go through a background check and take a one-hour course with the police department, including tips on what to look for and how to approach their role.

Volunteers wear police-issued T-shirts identifying them with the program, and cars must have identifying placards on the doors. Patrols notify the police shift commander when they start and end their shift. Participants patrol Tampa Heights and downtown once a week for two hours.

Police recommend that volunteers carry a cell phone with a backup battery, never travel alone and stay in their vehicle. Their role: call police when they see something suspicious.

"We can't be everywhere at one time," DeGagne said. "It gives us extra eyes and ears on the streets.

"It sends a message to the criminal element that the residents are wanting to take back their neighborhood," he said.

On previous trips, patrol members have called to report a car parked in the middle of the street, strangers hanging out at night in front of a vacant house and a car in a dark, secluded park.

"Hopefully, it becomes a deterrent," said Jon Dixon, 42.

Spokas, who has lived in Tampa Heights for six years, said patrolling is a way to perpetuate change in the area.

"I see it (the neighborhood) as a diamond in the rough," said Spokas, 36. "If everyone throws in the towel and leaves, it will never change."

ON PATROL

For information about the police department's Mobile Patrol program, call Officer Jason DeGagne at (813) 242-3810.

Reporter Jose Patino Girona can be reached at (813) 259-7659.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT