12-28-2007, 10:58 PM
North Port citizens to get police lessons
First academy will take the public behind the badges to see it at work
By JOHN DAVIS
john.davis@heraldtribune.com
NORTH PORT -- Looking after the public's safety in this city now topping 50,000 people is a vastly larger and more expensive undertaking than it was even five years ago.
"For us, the slowdown in the economy ... means an increase in service calls for us," Police Chief Terry Lewis said.
This has prompted the chief to invite the public behind the walls of the department in an effort to increase people's comfort level.
The inaugural Citizens Law Enforcement Academy will not be all about comfort, though.
Besides police ride-alongs, weapons training at the shooting range and lectures about the police budget process, all 16 participants will have the opportunity to feel what it is like to be shocked with a stun gun.
"I don't know," said Mindy Tew, executive director of the local Chamber of Commerce, when asked whether she would agree to experience the 50,000-volt charge.
"I'm just looking to learn a little bit more about" how the police "function and operate," she said.
The first 10-week class is by invitation and includes members of the print and broadcast media, a city commissioner, business people and interested residents. The first session is scheduled for Jan. 10.
Alberto Belinfante, 75, was unwilling to commit to the stun gun this early.
A longtime North Port resident who has twice run for the City Commission, Belinfante has watched the changes in North Port and the police department.
"Those who are set in our minds that we're still a small town, they don't want to see a larger force," he said. "But they want the protection."
This year, the city police budget tops $11 million.
"Why is our budget the amount that it is?" Lewis said. "People need to know that."
The department now employs more than 160 people and has more than doubled in size since 2004 to keep up with North Port's rapid growth.
Talk is swirling about building a Sarasota County jail here in the coming years, and record numbers of calls are coming in.
"Our calls for service will approach 60,000 this year," said Lewis, mindful of the growing profile the police department has in North Port.
With an investigation into child molestation allegations against Scott Wilson, an ex-principal at Heron Creek Middle School; the unsolved murder of 6-year-old Coralrose Fullwood; and other crimes that range from shootings to racial graffiti, the Police Department is facing more responsibilities than at any time in the history of the city.
This year, the department plans to get a mobile command bus, a $189,000 piece of equipment the department says has become a necessity given the size of North Port.
The mobile command bus, which is essentially a souped-up RV with satellite and wireless capabilities, will enable the police to set up a "war room" almost anywhere inside the city's 103 square miles.
The reasons this bus is needed and the challenges facing the department will be part of the discussions in this and future law enforcement academies.
"We want our community to understand why we do what we do," Lewis said.
Last modified: December 28. 2007 12:00AM
First academy will take the public behind the badges to see it at work
By JOHN DAVIS
john.davis@heraldtribune.com
NORTH PORT -- Looking after the public's safety in this city now topping 50,000 people is a vastly larger and more expensive undertaking than it was even five years ago.
"For us, the slowdown in the economy ... means an increase in service calls for us," Police Chief Terry Lewis said.
This has prompted the chief to invite the public behind the walls of the department in an effort to increase people's comfort level.
The inaugural Citizens Law Enforcement Academy will not be all about comfort, though.
Besides police ride-alongs, weapons training at the shooting range and lectures about the police budget process, all 16 participants will have the opportunity to feel what it is like to be shocked with a stun gun.
"I don't know," said Mindy Tew, executive director of the local Chamber of Commerce, when asked whether she would agree to experience the 50,000-volt charge.
"I'm just looking to learn a little bit more about" how the police "function and operate," she said.
The first 10-week class is by invitation and includes members of the print and broadcast media, a city commissioner, business people and interested residents. The first session is scheduled for Jan. 10.
Alberto Belinfante, 75, was unwilling to commit to the stun gun this early.
A longtime North Port resident who has twice run for the City Commission, Belinfante has watched the changes in North Port and the police department.
"Those who are set in our minds that we're still a small town, they don't want to see a larger force," he said. "But they want the protection."
This year, the city police budget tops $11 million.
"Why is our budget the amount that it is?" Lewis said. "People need to know that."
The department now employs more than 160 people and has more than doubled in size since 2004 to keep up with North Port's rapid growth.
Talk is swirling about building a Sarasota County jail here in the coming years, and record numbers of calls are coming in.
"Our calls for service will approach 60,000 this year," said Lewis, mindful of the growing profile the police department has in North Port.
With an investigation into child molestation allegations against Scott Wilson, an ex-principal at Heron Creek Middle School; the unsolved murder of 6-year-old Coralrose Fullwood; and other crimes that range from shootings to racial graffiti, the Police Department is facing more responsibilities than at any time in the history of the city.
This year, the department plans to get a mobile command bus, a $189,000 piece of equipment the department says has become a necessity given the size of North Port.
The mobile command bus, which is essentially a souped-up RV with satellite and wireless capabilities, will enable the police to set up a "war room" almost anywhere inside the city's 103 square miles.
The reasons this bus is needed and the challenges facing the department will be part of the discussions in this and future law enforcement academies.
"We want our community to understand why we do what we do," Lewis said.
Last modified: December 28. 2007 12:00AM