Patrols bring peace of mind

Though the proposal to hire off-duty sheriff's deputies to patrol Northdale was initially controversial, early indications are the extra presence is working.

By LOGAN D. MABE

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 9, 2000

NORTHDALE -- A car zooming along at maybe 100 mph careens out of control and smashes through a concrete block wall, shattering the predawn stillness of a quiet subdivision.

Another car loses control on a gentle curve near the Bob Sierra YMCA and takes out a power transformer. Most of Northdale is plunged into darkness.

Well past midnight, high school kids are frolicking again on the moonlit fairways of Northdale Golf Club, drinking and dissing the club's owner.

These are the kinds of problems Northdale Special Tax District members hoped to stem when they implemented a new security patrol last month.

The board has set aside about $2,200 a month to hire off-duty Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies to do random, four-hour patrols of the area. That amount allows for 24 shifts a month above and beyond the normal patrols in the area.

The move was a controversial one that set off fireworks at the district's monthly meetings. Board member George Helmstetter opposed the measure and made his vehement disapproval of it known.

Over his protests, though, board members passed the idea on a trial basis, and the patrols will continue through the end of the fiscal year in September.

At that time, the board will reconsider the issue and decide whether the service should be continued. But early indications are that the patrols are working, and residents are glad to see more of a police presence in their neighborhoods.

"I've been in Northdale 11 years, and always thought of it as a low-crime activity area," said Chris Cook, president of the Northdale Civic Association, who recently rode along with an off-duty deputy on a 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. weeknight shift.

"But there's a lot going on that we don't know about," Cook said. "And it seems like the deputies do a lot more than I thought they did. I definitely think the program is benefiting Northdale."

But why should the 3,000-home development need to spend extra money on police protection? That's the question Helmstetter posed during the debate on the issue. Residents already pay plenty in taxes. Why should they pay more, he asked.

Perhaps the reason is that speeding in particular and petty crime in general are on the rise in Northdale, outpacing the staff of the Sheriff's Department. That hurts property values. If left unchecked, the problems will get far worse before they get better.

That's what members of the Bayshore Beautiful Association concluded earlier this year when they decided to hire off-duty Tampa police officers to make their streets safer.

Last year, four other neighborhood groups, including the Reserve Homeowners Association in Tampa Palms, spent $152,600 to hire deputies and officers.

It costs $22 an hour to rent a police officer. The officer gets $20, and the department gets $2 for the liability costs. Residents get a sworn officer, complete with squad car to do their bidding.

Collision course

Steve Bowers, director of the Bob Sierra YMCA on Northdale Boulevard, has a trackside view of the speeders that plague the road.

"The accidents are remarkably infrequent," Bowers said, surprised that there aren't more collisions. "People fight all that traffic (on Dale Mabry) and once they get through the light (at Northdale and Mapledale), it's like, "Start your engines.' It is a concern because we have a lot of kids who ride their bikes or walk up here. That's what I'm concerned about."

The median in front of the YMCA is a familiar target of out-of-control drivers. They plow into pine trees and railroad tie pilings on a frequent basis. Down the street, skid marks leading to a downed 35 mph sign are only now beginning to fade.

It's so bad this year, the YMCA has moved its summer camp programs to St. Timothy's Catholic Church on Ragg Road so that parents won't have to use Northdale Boulevard to drop off and pick up their children each day.

"Typically, during the summer, we have anywhere from 400 to 500 cars come through our parking lot between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.," Bowers said. "So we're doing all our camp programs out of St. Timothy's because of the traffic flow. It's been a massive improvement."

Betty Vega, who lives on Lonesdale Place, had the closest of encounters with a wayward driver back in April. That's when a 1989 Mercury plowed through a concrete wall that separates her back yard from the Northdale Boulevard extension.

"It sounded like an explosion," Ms. Vega said of the 5:30 a.m. accident. "My daughter thought it was a plane crash. She comes to my room and says, "Mom, there's a car in our back yard.' "

"They estimated he was going over 100 mph," said Ron Nichols, who also lives at the home.

The police report of the accident showed that the car left the road, hit a series of three trees and finally crashed through the wall. The car was out of control for about 450 feet.

Oddly, the driver left the scene before deputies arrived. The owner of the car said it had been stolen during a teen party.

Writing them up

So extra duty deputies have plenty of chances to nab speeders in the area.

At the end of each shift, the deputy on duty files a report documenting what he or she did during the patrol. Whether it's morning, noon or night, they stay busy.

For instance, on May 26 Deputy Mark Tucker worked from 7 to 11 p.m. In those four hours he made nine traffic stops, wrote five speeding tickets and a warning. All of the speeders were caught on busy Northdale Boulevard, where Tucker tracked drivers going from 49 mph to 62 mph. All in a 35 mph zone.

On May 23, Deputy Brian Sherman had his hands full with 15 traffic stops during his four-hour evening shift. He issued five speeding tickets and two warnings, and tickets to drivers for running a stop sign, driving with an expired tag and driving without insurance.

Sherman spent the last hour of his shift handling an accident at Northdale Boulevard and Dawnview Drive when a car crashed into a power transformer, knocking out electricity to the area for about 45 minutes.

Not every deputy has been equipped with radar, so some shifts involve more warnings than actual citations. And deputies also deal with run-of-the-mill duties -- running off loiterers in business parking lots, checking abandoned vehicles, cruising the golf course -- that could be overlooked by on-duty deputies, who stay plenty busy in the area.

Even when nothing happens, the deputies provide an important service: peace of mind.

"No calls were dispatched in the Northdale area during my four-hour shift," wrote Deputy Bryan Pille after his May 25 patrol. "I came in contact with several walkers who were happy to see (Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office) out in Northdale."

Besides dogging speeders, deputies also are on the lookout for suspicious activities and vehicles and random vandalism that has beset some neighborhoods, particularly Northdale Golf Club.

"I'm getting rid of it because of that," said Dave Creighton, who has owned the golf course for 20 years.

"I'm selling the place. I got called out twice last night to get kids off the golf course. It's no fun, I tell you. You get out there and confront the kids and all they do is give you lip and say, "Get out of here old man.' "

Creighton, who will be 70 in three weeks, said the aggravation isn't worth the effort anymore.

"I think it's really necessary as far as keeping everything in order," Creighton said of the security patrol. "It just seems to be worse now than it ever was, and it's getting out of hand. So you've got to do something."

"Despite some initial ironing out the bugs, I think the mission has been accomplished," said Northdale property manager Diane Montgomery. "Our mission out here is to control speeders and protect our common grounds, our investment. That's what we're here to do."

To reach Logan D. Mabe, call 226-3464 or e-mail him at mabe@sptimes.com.

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