Kissimmee Police Report Mid-Year Crime Statistics

Kissimmee, Fla. (August 31, 2010) – The Kissimmee police department has submitted their mid-year crime statistics to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.  The crime statistics reflect Part One Index Crimes for January through June of 2010.  Part one index crimes include murder, forcible sex offenses, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny (theft) and motor vehicle theft.  Within these categories, the Kissimmee police department has seen an increase of 27.9% or 419 crimes with the greatest increases in the area of domestic violence and shoplifting which contributed 58% or 246 crimes.

“Difficult social and economic factors often contribute to the increase in specific crimes like Domestic Violence and Shoplifting,” said Chief Fran Iwanski, “Although the statistics reflect an increase in our Part One Crimes, we remain confident that our crime control and community outreach strategies will prove effective, especially in the areas of department concentration, such as burglary to homes, where the department continues to see a positive result with a 13.7% decrease and vehicle burglaries which are up slightly by 6.5%.” 

The Kissimmee police department notes that, with the expansion of the “See It…Say It” campaign adopted in 2006, the number of calls for service has continued to increase each year.  As a direct and foreseeable consequence of the expanding collaboration between the police department and the community, citizens are contacting the department in even greater numbers to report incidents occurring in their community. 

“This collaboration effort will result in increasing numbers of criminal incidents being reported to law enforcement.  Continuing partnerships with the citizens ultimately strengthens our community in our overall effort to reduce crime in Kissimmee,” said Chief Iwanski.

eLerts
Social Security Scam Alert
Seminole County Sheriff's Office
August 25, 2010

Please be aware of this latest telephone scam designed to trick you into giving out your personal information.  In this scam the caller will tell you that she is a representative of the Social Security Administration. The caller states that she needs to update your information in order for you to continue to receive benefits.  The caller will give you the choice of coming to Kissimmee to complete the information or doing it over the telephone.  Most people opt for answering the questions over the phone.  The caller will then ask for your full name, amount of benefit and bank deposited in.  The caller also will ask for your age, social security number, bank account number, and a credit card number for a verification reference.

This is a SCAM.  Do not respond to the caller.  If you or anyone you know has been a victim, collect any information gathered during the call and report it to the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, Crime Prevention Unit.  Telephone number 407-665-6631.

You Snooze, You Lose - Don't Drive Drowsy

A Florida family turns their tragedy into a campaign to save lives.

Driver fatigue leads to 1,550 fatalities and 71,000 crashes each year in the United States. While those numbers may seem like boring statistics, it is more than that to Ronshay Dugans' family. It is a sad reality.

In 2008, a driver fell asleep at the wheel of a cement truck in Tallahassee and slammed into the bus carrying 8-year-old Ronshay. While Ronshay's death is a tragedy, her family wants to share it so that other families do not have to suffer a loss like the one they have. They worked with State Rep. Alan Williams to champion new legislation to create the Ronshay Dugans Act. The Act designates the first week of September as Drowsy Driving Prevention Week in Florida.

This special week brings attention to the public safety issue at a critical time when millions of motorists are planning long weekend road trips for the Labor Day holiday. To remind motorists of their responsibility as a driver to be alert and sober behind the wheel, Florida's departments of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and of Transportation have teamed up with Representative Williams and Ronshay's family to launch a public awareness and education campaign. The campaign theme, You Snooze, You Lose - Don't
Drive Drowsy, uses an old adage in its literal interpretation to remind drivers of the potential consequences that falling asleep at the wheel can have.

Do you know whose eyelids are most at-risk of dropping anchor while at the wheel? According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drivers in the following three groups pose the highest risk of drowsy driving:

*         Young people (ages 16 to 29), especially males.
*         Shift workers whose sleep is disrupted by working at night or working long or irregular hours.
*         People with untreated sleep apnea syndrome and narcolepsy.

Regardless of a driver's vocation, age, sex, health condition or other
characteristics, any driver can become overconfident and fall victim to
driving while drowsy - regardless of the time of day.  Measures that drivers
can take to arm themselves against the Sandman are:

*        Catch some ZZZZ's before you get behind the wheel. A good night's sleep goes a long way to prevent drowsy driving.
*        Bring a buddy. By having another driver on board, you have someone to share the driving responsibilities and help keep one another alert.
*        Take a break. Stopping to get out and stretch your legs every few hours or even to catch a quick nap will help you recharge your battery.
*        Drive sober. Alcohol and driving never mix. Also, heed prescription medication labels and any warnings that say they may make you drowsy.

Fatigue and drowsiness can impair your ability to safely operate a motor vehicle, which not only puts you and your passengers at risk, but also it places everyone else on the road with you at-risk. For more information about drowsy driving and the campaign, visit www.dot.state.fl.us/safety and remember - You Snooze, You Lose - Don't Drive Drowsy.

Recently it seems that thieves are looking for cars with GPS units for several reasons, one of which is to see if your address is listed in the “Home” saved location.  Most GPS devices have a “Home” option where you can store and easily retrieve your home address without having to retype it every time.  Potential burglars figure if they find your car far enough away from your home, then you’re away from home as well making you that much more of a potential target. Instead of saving your address under the title “Home”, save it under a random name that still points you to your home. Then for “Home” you could put the address of your local law enforcement agency.

Motorists oftentimes do not see emergency vehicles, and fail to avoid closed lanes or emergency workers on or near the roadway. In some cases, weather and road conditions can reduce a motorist's ability to see law enforcement officers, fire fighters and medical personnel working the scene of a crash. However, motorists need to pay attention to vehicles parked on the side of roadways, especially emergency vehicles with flashing lights, and react in accordance with the Move Over Law and use basic common sense.

Law requires you to vacate the lane closest to the EMERGENCY VEHICLE or WRECKER (TOW TRUCK).  If you cannot, you must slow to a speed 20 miles per hour below the posted speed limit.  If the speed limit is 20mph or less you must slow to 5 mph.

Tips for Reporting Graffiti

Reporting graffiti to the police is important for intelligence gathering purpose but it is also equally important to report graffiti to Code Enforcement who can require the owner of the property to remove it within 24 to 48 hours. Attached is a copy of important city department phone numbers.

The Osceola County Sheriff Office has also started a new graffiti abatement program. They will be going out two Fridays a month to paint over graffiti in the city and county. If you locate any graffiti call 321-697-4374 (please put this number on your web-site) with the location. They will not respond to painted street signs and items like that.

Click here for details