Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Lake Worth Crime Stats


Rene Varela says that crime has dropped throughout our City...but has it? He has appealed to the crowd that has been caught up in the rapture...the crowd that says money should not be a problem because we want the Cadillac of services. But what are the facts?

Crimereports.com sent out the stats on crime in Lake Worth, listed below. These figures are for one week ending November 15.

Crime Stats

  • Breaking & Entering....10
  • Theft....11
  • Sexual Offense....1
  • Qualify of Life....18
  • Proactive Policing....17
  • Robbery....3
  • Other....41
  • Assault....10
  • Traffic....16
  • Property Crime....3
What happened to the murder that happened just south of 10th Avenue North on Dixie Highway this past Friday night? Do we assume that it falls under "other" or perhaps "robbery?"

No one is against the Sheriff. Rene Varela keeps saying that crime is down. I say prove it. There is no doubt that there are more safety vehicles on the street. That has never been the argument. There is no doubt that response time is quicker. No argument. But crime is rampant. And we do have to worry about how we are going to pay the tab. That is what "financial responsibility" is.

Is it responsible to throw up your hands in despair and get rid of the problem by outsourcing it not only with our police but every problem that comes up? We worry about money when fixing the beach but do not worry about paying for premium services with the Sheriff. Why not? This takes half our budget.

Is it responsible not to fix the problem internally by changing management? We could have done the same thing--change shifts and quicker response time.

Is it responsible to go with the Sheriff when you have been told that it is going to be very difficult to pay for it and will stress our budget in the coming years? Even City Manager Susan Stanton says it was not a good idea. Now it is costing millions more a year for a city that has two nickels.

Laurence McNamara is NOT against the Sheriff. He IS for making correct and responsible decisions. That is what a leader does. He does not act on emotions.

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