Largo police Chief Lester Aradi had been on the job only a short time in late 2001 when he announced that he was going to make some changes in the way the Police Department did its job. His officers would still catch bad guys, but Aradi wanted more focus on prevention of crime, and he wanted to create programs that would connect with residents who have special needs and are often overlooked.
Aradi picked two groups of people who are particularly vulnerable to crime: senior citizens and the mentally ill. For the mentally ill, Aradi wanted his officers to be able to offer alternatives to jail, so troubled people could get help instead of incarceration. For seniors, Aradi wanted a program that would show them they are not alone in a time of trouble.
So Aradi created a community relations and services unit, put a sergeant who was right for the job in charge, and named the department's first two officers specializing in senior services and mental health.
Late last month, the department won well-deserved accolades from the Florida Council on Aging. At the group's convention in Orlando, Largo received the Quality Senior Living Award, which is given to a business or organization that provides outstanding service to seniors. Aradi, Mayor Bob Jackson, supervising Sgt. Mike Short, and senior services Officer Rayshall Poinsette were there to accept the award.
While it was Aradi's vision that created the program, it is the warmth and professionalism of Poinsette that wins over the seniors who are helped by the program. A recent St. Petersburg Times story detailed just a few of the actions Poinsette has taken to help those she serves: finding housing for an 88-year-old man who lived in his truck; arranging mediation and counseling for a woman upset by an altercation with a relative; scolding a tree service that overcharged an elderly resident.
Poinsette spends a lot of time building relationships with the senior community, knowing that seniors must trust her to ask for her help. Hers is a familiar face at senior events. She also goes to great lengths to find and help seniors who are isolated by choice or homebound because of health problems. She speaks to civic groups to raise their awareness of problems among senior citizens, and she urges people to get to know their neighbors who are seniors.
With more than a third of Largo's population over age 59, Jackson said it was "a smart move on the part of the chief to create the senior services program." Such programs cost money that could be spent on other items such as sidewalks and fire trucks. And some people argue that police should be enforcers, not social workers. However, you probably wouldn't hear those arguments from elderly Largo residents, who in a time of loss or confusion found capable assistance and warm hearts at their Police Department.
