[cabo35]

Your comments regarding crime in the Villages are timely and relevent. Overall, the Villages have offered a very safe environment for its residents. Recently, some trends, burglary for one, seem to be surfacing sporadically. To be certain, I am not suggesting that it is an epidemic, but, to those who are affected, it can be traumatic.

Several factors that need to be considered include the overlapping of policing responsibilities between three counties. A basis for establishing crime patterns and trends is the accumulation and archiving of criminal activity. I don't know whether that is occurring on regional or jurisdictional basis, or, at all in the Villages. Such documentation, which is fairly easy to program with today's technology, would be a useful tool in identifying crime patterns, projecting crime hazard areas and deploying available resources that reduce the likelihood of crimes being committed.

An oversimplified theory of crime spells out three components that need to exist for crime to occur. They are motivation, opportunity and a belief that it will be successful.

As to motive, more than likely most crimes in the Villages are committed by transients from neighboring areas. The motives and remedies are largely social issues that the average Villager can do little about. The opportunity increases or decreases proportionate to the omnipresence created by conspicuous police patrols, good alarm systems, large dogs and good neighbors. The belief that a crime will be successful speaks to investigative efforts that lead to apprehension and conviction rates.

Are the law enforcement agencies, Sumter County Sheriff, Marion County Sheriff, Lake County Sheriff, and Lady Lake PD accumulating, sharing, analyzing and acting on crime data from the Villages?

Would a special joint Villages Task Force be a more effective approach to patrolling and responding to the crime patterns attributable to the demographics and unique circumstances of our community? Who has the political clout and contacts to bring this to the table?

Most experts in the field of crime prevention are in agreement that the best prevention tool is a good neighbor who will pick up the phone and call the police to report suspicious activity.

Just a few random thoughts on a rare cloudy day in the Villages.