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Neighborhood rpeort
Adjustments keep deputies roaming streets
The taxing districts reject the mileage cap, though deputies must log when and where they patrol.
By STEPHANIE HAYES
Published November 4, 2005
WESTCHASE - A couple of tweaks will keep deputies roaming the community's streets, at least for now.
After some Community Development District leaders questioned the value of off-duty patrols, its two taxing boards decided to take a closer look. The districts in October asked supervisors Bill Casale and Lewis Patterson to work with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office to analyze crime patterns and law enforcement response.
Although willing last month to get rid of the tax-paid patrols, Patterson said at Tuesday's meeting that "there are a few simple things that can be done to improve the efficiency for what we're now paying for it."
The taxing districts pay the Sheriff's Office $26 per hour, plus 25 cents a mile, four hours a day. The districts' management company had advised deputies to limit their driving to about 15 miles a day, so deputies were often parked instead of touring the neighborhood, Casale said.
"If you want them to cover the entire community, 15 miles a night won't do it," he said.
The two boards decided to reject the mileage cap. They directed field supervisor Doug Mays to keep a log of when and where deputies patrol to avoid having them visit the same spot at the same time each day.
Casale also said limiting traffic control on Linebaugh Avenue to on-duty deputies might be an option down the road. The presence of off-duty patrol cars would only be a bonus.
"The visual deterrent usually is enough to slow traffic," he said.
Casale and Patterson will watch things for another month, then come up with written requests for the Sheriff's Office.
To ward off crime, Casale advised residents to close garage doors and lock access doors and, most importantly, call police if something happens.
"If you see somebody on your lawn who looks suspicious, don't just go back inside and put on the ball game," he said. "Call police."
- Stephanie Hayes can be reached at 813 269-5303 or shayes@sptimes.com
[Last modified November 3, 2005, 08:48:08]
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