EAST LAKE'S POLICE
East Lake is protected first and foremost by the moral core of the indiviuals living here, of course. When that moral core fails, as sometimes it can, the Pinellas County Sheriff and Florida Highway Patrol step in to assume the role of shield for the average citizen. Crime in our community is well below both the national average and the Tampa Bay area average. In fact, East Lake is consistantly ranked as one of the safest neighborhoods in any metropolitan area in Florida.
So, is there any crime here? Yes. The overwealming cause of crime (outside of traffic violations) in the area concerns our youth and its proclivity for trying/becoming hooked on various drugs. Until that fact becomes focused on and recognized as the central core of our social malaise, ruining otherwise promising lives, the rut, and the disenchantment, will win out.
Everyone from high school kids to the middle-aged seem at risk for various kinds of substance abuse, and this leads to an amplification of crime as a whole. Why? An easy example consists of the high school youth who A) is a drug-taker and B) becomes a thief in order to get money for purchasing the drug.
Two crimes, not one. Or many, if a repeat offender, as is usually the case. Another example is an argument between the seller and purchaser about the cost of a drug at the time of transaction. Yet another situation appears after the drug has been ingested, and has altered the subject-cum-criminal to the point where they are either emboldened enough, or deranged enough, to commit some other crime, most likely theft or vandalism. The times are such that one may equate in some way the entire process of a 'night of drug taking' to many, if not most, local crimes. This is not only a East Lake problem, of course, it is the case everywhere. Please see this very good story in the St. Pete Times.
The other problem in East Lake is the driving that takes place on East Lake Rd. Everyone from locals driving through to high school kids racing through, to road-rage inspiring rush-hour traffic- often make this road less than fun to drive on. East Lake has much better traffic than average in the county, though. Keeping control of East Lake Rd. are the highly visible law enforcement patrol cars. One can usually see at least one Pinellas squad car while driving through from Keystone to Tampa Rd. or vise-versa. The FHP is less visible in East Lake, but can be found on US 19. The response time of Pinellas Deputies is very good, usually a matter of minutes. Check out the calls being received right now by the Pinellas Sheriff, in this great new web-feature! Also, search the archives here: Weekly Palm Harbor / Tarpon Springs / Oldsmar / East Lake Police Report.
If you wish, look at the Pinellas Sheriff's Most Wanted List.
Check here if you would like to track local sex offenders.
The officers 'on the beat' here are friendly and help out citizens like in the old days, the 1950s. They are not like the officers depicted in the movie, 'Super Troopers,' but more like the ones in `Robocop 3,' when, in order to save the city from being demolished by a Japanese corporation, the Detroit Police Department deputized ordinary citizens to help out. These two forces, the citizens and the police, together won the day. Meanwhile, East Lake communities are independently policing their neighborhoods, to increasingly proficient effect. And don't be afraid to make a citizen's arrest. Well, actually, better call first.
But let's return to the camaro. Not only is the camaro a sign that policing East Lake is serious, but Pinellas Deputy Evans (see pic below right) has the dubious distinction of making more drunk driving arrests than any other officer in Florida last year. The moral of that this is: DO NOT drink and drive in East Lake. If you do, there is a good chance that you will be eliminated from the driving population.
The Pinellas Sheriff's Camaro: "What'cha gonna do?"
In the '80s and before, a Pinellas cop not only probably knew you or someone you know, but slapped you on the wrist and let you go, or rather, escorted you home if you were drinking and driving on these more empty roads. Times change though, and like anywhere else, a blitz of population means regimentation and the countermeasures that ensure a law and order society. So why not just follow the law? As any officer will end up telling you, driving is a privilege, not a right. Here it is doubly hard if you lose you privilege, because there is no real public transportation. Over and again, forty year old Bill who has worked at the same place for fifteen years and is a good citizen makes a bad choice, often because of some personal stress, or has an extra glass of wine at a restaurant or beer at a bar, and drives with elevated BAC, and winds upwith a headache worse than the worst hangover. The problem is that for every Bill there is a 21 year old Reggie, drinking and driving without heed for others at all. When 'that moment' comes, remember not to drink that drink.
What about the rapidly increasingly crime nationwide as we drift into the somewhat uncertain national future? For a glimpse of how East Lake will meet future opponents disturbing the peace, click here and scroll down to On War #128, written by William S. Lind, the guy who wrote the Marine Corps' Field Maneuver Manual. Critically, he tells how us regular folk may be able to keep the country after all.
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Pinellas County Sheriff's Leaders
Make sure the officer has at
least one of these forms of ID
Pinellas Deputy's Interceptor
Another one bites the dust thanks to
Pinellas Sheriff's deputy Arkovich,
who recently notched his 1,000th DUI arrest.
Whether congratulations are in order is debatable.