Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Little things keep police busy all day

Operation Cool Breeze focuses on day-to-day problems that affect residents of North Tampa.

By ABBIE VANSICKLE
Published May 4, 2006

TAMPA - Messy yards, stray dogs and truant kids may not sound like the makings of flashy police work.

But these kinds of nuisances can shed light on bigger troubles, according to the Tampa police Lt. Bret Bartlett.

"If you start little, you're going to get the big stuff," Bartlett said as he sat in a police car, scanning the streets near E Poinsettia Avenue.

That's the idea behind Operation Cool Breeze, a daylong project aimed at reducing criminal activity by focusing on day-to-day problems that affect residents in the North Tampa area. The project combined the efforts of the police, animal services, code enforcement and cable and utility companies.

From 7:30 a.m. through the evening, authorities targeted an area north from E Busch Boulevard to E 109th Avenue and east from Nebraska to 22nd Avenue. Police spokesman Larry McKinnon described the project as a chance for law enforcement to "breeze through neighborhood," raising the quality of life.

"It was like a breath of fresh air through the neighborhood," McKinnon said. "We were there to try to give pride back to the neighborhood."

By afternoon, authorities had picked up three kids for skipping school, made arrests for stealing electricity and trespassing, found more than 30 cases of stolen cable television, made 20 traffic stops and found more than 100 code violations, including 27 abandoned cars tagged for removal, according to police.

The results seemed to enforce the police's premise.

A stray dog led police to property full of code violations. Chemical barrels, huge tanks and stacks of ammunition boxes were scattered about the front yard.

Police invited several reporters to accompany officers throughout the day, describing it as a good way to show the public how fixing minor problems can have a big impact residents' lives.

Resident Vera Keene said she hopes the project will show criminals that law enforcement and neighbors are serious about improving the area.

"I want to see it back the way it was when I bought my home," Keene said.

Keene, president of the North Tampa Community Crime Watch and Civic Association, moved to the neighborhood in 1971. Since then, she said, she's seen criminals move in. She hoped Wednesday's project would encourage people to take better care of their properties and discourage crime.

Police focused on helping victims, finding criminals and improving the appearance of the neighborhood, Bartlett said.

As he drove through the area, he searched out spots that could use some improvement.

"This doesn't look good," he said, pointing to a pile of couches near the street.

"That doesn't look good," he said, pointing to the other side of the street, where several chairs were stacked in a yard.

A few minutes later, he pulled up to a patch of grass near railroad tracks. A "No Dumping" sign was stuck in the ground. Behind it sat a small mountain of yard signs, furniture and shopping carts.

Ezell Lester Jr., an employee with Tampa's Clean City Division, was standing nearby, ready to pile all the garbage onto a trailer. He roves the city, gathering about a half-ton of trash a day. He wishes people would take more pride in their neighborhoods instead of neglecting their homes and yards.

"Pretty much that's what's going on out here - it's a lack of respect," he said before he began to haul off the latest load.

Abbie VanSickle can be reached at 813 226-3373 or vansickle@sptimes.com

[Last modified May 4, 2006, 01:05:11]