Ummm
What were you trying to say?

Everyone knows the worst time for crime on the cart paths is after school until about 6:30pm and in the summer. That is when the satanic worthless brats are loose here.....be careful.

Please people don't tip off the cops when the brats are using drugs on the paths.....with any luck they will od and we will be done with the crime.

As the ol' boy said in the Paul Newman, southern movie, "what we have here is a failure to communicate."
Full patrols on the cart paths aren't necessary to reduce crime there. Random raids with scores of officers would get the word around, as long as it was done permanently on a "random" basis. If you do it the same time all of the time, "they" will simply adjust.
Draw times out of a hat and hit the paths at that time. This sort of scheduling is used by industry now and for many years to control many things. The key is not to drop it or do it sloppily.
It takes very little more people or money. Imagination!!! Not more budgets.

That actually sounds like the best idea yet. They set up the computer predator schemes, they should be able to handle this. The paths would be the uncool place to be.

I really thought that officers were added in the last budget for cart path patrol. It was approximately the third time the subject has come up over the years about such patrols, at budget time. Other police work is always found which avoids nearly any path patrols.
It doesn't require full and constant patrols (like speeders) to help the path situation---just done occasionally but on a consistent basis and not dropped.

Other police work is always found which avoids nearly any path patrols.

Yeah, that other police work like actually answering calls for help from citizens, responding to monitored alarms, patrolling businesses to help prevent burglaries. Dang that other stuff, that just gets in the way of them patrolling the paths.

In the past few months, the patrolling of the paths has decreased because the number of calls for help has increased. Did you read the statistic about PTC having the fewest officers per 1000 citizens, in the entire country? The officers do a great job, but they are SEVERELY short-staffed and under-funded.

We, the citizens, should be raising holy heck with our city council, mayor, and police chief, to change this situation. It is unacceptable.

It has been obvious for years that our world known path system in PTC has never been consistently protected. Can you imagine a policeperson zooming their cart along the path to the nature preserve at 2:am, or 5:00 pm, or noon, or anytime? Until those paths will accept cruisers, there won't be anyone there regularily.

You need to attend budget hearings and city council and you will find that the police department has been asking for these things for years. Always seems that the city fathers have other plans for the tax payer money. During the last retreat the Chief told the Mayor and Council what is going to happen to crime in the city if they keep turning a blind eye. No one thinks about crime untill it effects them. If the bank robbery, jewel theft and recent murders don't get your attention, nothing will. And remember they caught all of them. The police department does not control the money. They must go hat in hand every year to beg for help and money.

Didn't you and I just agree? That the council is not providing enough resources for the PCPD? I think you're saying the same thing I am, but the tone was a little off, so not sure.

Didn't know you got out at 1:00 am dawg. These bums don't show at 10:00 am! Did you think the police trashed the tunnels ans strew the beer cans and wrappers?

Nothing good happens after midnight,except in bed.

I've been out fairly late, 1 AM or so, still, thankfully, no troubles. You can find trouble most anywhere if you look bad enough.

Like a year ago when a 14yr old boy tried to attack a women out jogging at 10pm.
How about the 14yr old boy who was attacked in the afternoon behind crimony village last summer?
Were you here last summer when the teens broke into the stores by publix and left via the cart paths stealing and ditching golfcarts along the way?
Were you here 2 yrs ago a friend of mine jogging at 5am ran into a stripper/streaker?
Were you here about 8 or 9yrs ago when a Delta flight attendant was raped on the paths?
Were you here last summer when a couple of teens were shooting moontraveler rockets at old people going by on the paths?
Were you here last week when the 15yr old ranaway after threatening his mother with a gun? He was loose for a weekend until the police caught up with him stealing a golf cart and with drugs in his possession.
Most of these things aren't nearly as entertaining as our brain dead council people think it is.

on the cart paths and neither have I. But there have been several incidents on the cart paths. Just read the newspaper. Your comment is like saying - hey, I've never had a car accident so I'm not going to wear my seatbelt. Or how about this - my home has never been broken into so I'm not going to lock my doors at night. The point is, you go after the problem before it becomes a very serious issue. The cart paths are an accident waiting to happen if the PTC PD doesn't get in front of it before it is too late.

Flightplan the PD has been in front all these years but without man power it can not be done. More cart paths then roads in the city and have to be patroled at 15 MPH. Can not even tell where you are on the path system as they are not marked. Almost no way to get to an officer that runs up on trouble and needs a backup. Council worries about all those DUI's that will be made with citizens driving and driking on their golf carts. And you can be assured that will not be supported by a City Manager that was arrested for DUI on a golf cart or a Mayor and Council that love to drink. Don't look at PD for the answers, get you elected officals to support the repeated requests from PD for cart path patrol and man power. They just don't think it is that important. They will react after it is to late and then blame Steve Brown for the problem.

I wasn't suggesting that the PD isn't trying to get in front of it. I don't blame them. I'm sure they recognize the issue better than anyone. As you say, they are not being allowed to get in front of it.

That is the problem here. I have been at numerous events where this issue has been discussed and each time the police department has stated that the cart paths need to be covered. Each time they have suggested to have agressive patrols they have been turned away because elected officals would rather spend the money on things that get them elected. A few months ago an article was published that stated the police department was under funded by 39% when compared to other class B cities in the state. The fire department was 14% under funded. And guess what, the rec department was 250% over funded when compared to class B cities in the state. Now you could be blind and see where council spends it's money. There is a price tag associated with safety and it is expensive but in the end it is the best money you will ever use to protect your safety and your property values. Don't believe me, ask East Point, College Park and Riverdale. They are spending more money now and their crime rates continue to grow. And it is going to happen here.

I was told that the city PTC was designed after in Maryland has closed it's cart paths from dusk to dawn because of the crime on them. They made the same mistake by not listening to police officals when they stated they needed more police to protect the cart paths. I have even heard the police suggest the possible use of horse patrol on the paths.

We wants taxes cut even though we pay one of the lowest city taxes in the south for a city our size. We elect what ever stooge says they will cut taxes without even knowing what they need to run a city. SAFETY is the one thing you will always cash in on when it comes time to sell your house. The extra 300 or 400 dollars you need to spend on safety each year will pay you 10 time in increased propery values. Get your head out of the sand and demand elected officals start paying attention to what the police are telling them.

You are another one who has just verified that the PTC police force will never attempt to solve the path system problems.
You said that they had no signs to know where they were; couldn't be rescued or helped if they had trouble; couldn't drive over 15 MPH; and I guess it is scary after dark in the woods without a cruiser!
Our lack of ability to handle the Iraqi situation between 2001 and almost 2007 apparently is being caused by the same type of excuses. (they are mean dudes, they change their tactics, they set bombs along the road, they refuse to be tolerant of religious differences,
they are lazy, they want half of their on duty time off, and on and on.
Oh, did the "plan" presented at the retreat say it couldn't be done?

O yea I forgot you are an expert on police work. You are the same type of jerk that wants to be protected by police officers you will not pay enough to live in your city. The police officers in your city have more guts in their little finger then you have in your entire body. Just to compare Iraq to the cart paths shows you do not have a grip on reality. If you had been at retreat as some of us concerened citizens were, you would know what they said. So before you open your big pie hole again, get the facts. Next time you need a cop, stick your finger in your mouth and blow.

I'm as frustrated as you are with the problem,(the problem being safety). The other problem being worthless council members who could give a rat's behind about safety.

Those cart path signs, that could be like mile markers...cost money. Our current council is pandering to developers and people sniveling about tax increases. So we have 2 problems, actually 3 because we still have the crime too. We have idiot council people, and citizens who want something for nothing.

I do get frustrated when I see the police patrol buisness parking lots instead of neighborhoods. It seems like those buisnesse's can afford sophisticated security much more readily than the average homeowner here.

The problem is with people here they will not demand higher taxes to pay for security until something bad happens.

We have been lucky so far, most of the bad people have been caught, including the sicko luring kids to "help him find his puppy". That happened about 6yrs ago. We all forget about this stuff too quickly, but I bet the real criminals have not.

Where are folks having troubles? I never said nothing needs to be done. Or things couldn't be improved on.

I don't expect them to be perfect, unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world.