Community Involvement Division

The Community Involvement Division strives to work with all sections of the community, both public and private, to resolve problems creatively and proactively.

The division was created in 1994 as a result of a Department-wide reorganization. It is commanded by a lieutenant, supervised by a sergeant and consists of sworn and civilian personnel in a variety of assignments including Training, Crime Prevention and Public Information.

The division also incorporates the Community Policing Unit, Police Athletic League (P.A.L.), Community Action Team (C.A.T .) and the Students Matter: Anti-violence Response Training (S.M.A.R.T.) program.

The Community Policing Unit interacts directly with the community to resolve long-term problems and to identify and ameliorate conditions which lead to criminal opportunity. The unit coordinates Department efforts with the resources available through other government agencies, social service agencies, other City departments, private citizens and businesses. Through the years, the unit has been responsible for the development of a number of successful programs including the Palm Beach County Migrant Worker Coalition and the Code Compliance Task Force. Many of these programs have received recognition on a state level.

The Community Action Team is a new community revitalization approach committed to addressing quality-of-life issues such as overcrowding and unsanitary conditions. Developed and proposed by Lake Worth Police Chief William Smith and Director of Building and Zoning Bill Bucklew, this team concept pairs an inspector from code enforcement and a City police officer who are responsible for conducting inspections and sending violators to hearing. The Community Action Team utilizes both the Code Board hearing process as well as sending violators in front of a County Court judge to ensure compliance with City codes. They are also responsible for working with the community to ensure that housing conditions are maintained, health and safety concerns are addressed, and our overall commitment to revitalize the neighborhoods becomes a standard practice. This program was approved and funded by the Lake Worth City Commission and CAT began its first inspections in February 2003.

The Lake Worth Police Athletic League, Inc. established in 1997 offers opportunities for the youth of the City to participate in various athletic leagues and activities that are organized and supervised by the Police Department. Along with various one-day events that take place throughout the year, the Lake Worth P.A.L. sponsors a flag football league that runs from September to mid-December and a basketball league that runs from January to April. As chapter members of the State and National P.A.L. organizations, The Lake Worth P.A.L. also participate in various State and National activities including a three-day conference in Disney World that allows eight selected youths from the City to attend the park and its activities. In a recent basketball tournament held in West Palm Beach over the spring break holiday, the 12 -and-under Lake Worth P.A.L. all-star team won first place. The 14- and 16-and-under teams each came home with a second place trophy. The Lake Worth Police Department hopes that youth involvement in the P.A.L. organization will reduce juvenile delinquency and foster a positive relationship between the youth of the City and the Police Department.

The Training Section provides high quality curriculums designed to meet departmental training objectives in addition to individual educational requirements. The section is responsible for numerous in-house training programs, firearms qualification opportunities and firearms training programs. In addition, the section is responsible for maintaining standards mandated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, offering up-to-date instruction in a variety of subjects utilizing a diversity of media. The supervisor of this section also produces video programs, utilizing department and donated equipment, for in-house officer training. Through the efforts of our own Lt. Pete Ebel the Lake Worth Police Department has been designated as a regional training center for state approved law enforcement training for agencies from all over the state. Lt. Ebel and Sgt. Richard Frankiewicz, another Department instructor, also conducts law enforcement training throughout the country. To read more about our Training Section, click here

The Crime Prevention Specialist meets with both the public and private sectors of the community to provide updated information on how to "target harden" homes and businesses against crime. The unit offers procedures for avoiding crime through Neighborhood Crime Watch meetings and Business Crime Watch programs, the completion of security surveys for homes and businesses and the presentation of lectures at schools, churches and special events. Our representatives also take current crime trends and other information to the community so they become involved in solving community issues. To form or join a Crime Watch group in your neighborhood or to find out more about our crime prevention programs, please call LWPD Crime Prevention Specialist Joel Morganstern at 586-1611, ext. 190, or by e-mail.

The SMART Program The Lake Worth Police Department offers to the youth in our City a violence and drug prevention program titled S.M.A.R.T. (Students Matter: Anti-violence Response Training). This program is taught to sixth grade students at local middle and private schools by Officer Debbie Wilson who was the 2001 Child Advocate Police Officer of the Year for Palm Beach County. The S.M.A.R.T. Program consists of approximately 500 students each school year. During the entire school year the students are taught valuable life lessons such as how to handle a conflict without resorting to violence, setting goals, building self-esteem, peer pressure refusal skills, and the consequences of drug use. The program provides the students with skills to help with a productive lifestyle that helps them reach their goals in life. For more information about S.M.A.R.T., call Officer Wilson at 586-1611, ext. 205, or by e-mail.

PROBLEM SOLVING IN ACTION
Visible street level prostitution is not only a crime, it also attracts other problems that can create a negative image of the City. Lake Worth police officers used the S.A.R.A. model to develop the Harlotry Project to reduce prostitution in Lake Worth.
Scanning: Officers from all divisions of the department made a concentrated effort to "bust" prostitutes and their "johns" on the streets of Lake Worth. While hundreds of arrests were made, these criminals often walked through the "revolving door" of the criminal justice system and were back out on the street before our paperwork was completed.
Analysis: Our previous arrests indicated that most of the activity was located in certain areas of the City and occurred in the late evening or early-morning hours. Additional surveillance of those areas was conducted to provide information for use in court for our mapping process.
Response: Several months of planning and numerous meetings were held with other criminal justice officials including the State Attorney, prosecutors, public defenders, judges and treatment providers. The foundation was set and the "mapping" process still continues today.
"Mapping" refers to a court ordered condition of probation which requires the defendant to stay out of the area mapped by the police department. If a defendant violates the court ordered mapping agreement, the prostitute's probation is revoked and a jail term may be imposed. The Crime Prevention Specialist was assigned to monitor the appearance of prostitutes in court and coordinate the department's follow-up process for violations of the mapping agreement.
When a prostitute is placed on probation, they are often required to report for evaluation and treatment for their drug dependency problem. This provides two benefits to our community: 1) the mapping process keeps the prostitute out of the area and 2) the prostitute receives treatment for drug addiction.
Media involvement begins with our local newspaper's policy of printing the names and photographs of persons arrested for prostitution offenses. While this approach may seem controversial to some, we feel the public exposure may discourage the "johns" from patronizing prostitutes in Lake Worth. At the very least, they know that there is a high probability of being arrested by the Lake Worth Police Department.
Information/Warning letters are mailed to each person charged with a prostitution offense. The letter explains that acts of prostitution are not only criminal offenses but are also very dangerous activities that contribute to the spread of many serious and some fatal diseases, such as AIDS.
The patronizing of prostitutes also increases a person's chances of becoming the victim of other more serious crimes, such as robbery, assault, theft, or even homicide.
Warning letters may also be sent to motel or hotel owners or to the registered owners of vehicles which are observed soliciting in the areas frequented by prostitutes.
Assessment: Surveys have been conducted to determine the effectiveness of the Harlotry Project's strategies on our prostitution problem. A questionnaire is filled out on each subject arrested for a prostitution offense, and the information collected is compiled to analyze our progress every six months.
The Harlotry Project will continue to be an ongoing and coordinated effort by our police officers, local media, court officials, residents and business owners to discourage prostitution in Lake Worth.