Ranch crime rises, led by car burglaries

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Crime rose 11.1 percent in Lakewood Ranch from 2008 to 2009.

There was a jump in total incidents of crime in Lakewood Ranch’s patrol zone from 279 to 310 from 2008 to 2009, Manatee County Sheriff Brad Steube told about 25 residents and members of various safety committees this week at Town Hall.

The largest segment of Ranch crime was burglary of an unoccupied vehicle, Steube said.

That segment comprised 117 of the total of 310 incidents of crime in Zone N-80, which is Lakewood Ranch’s zone.

Steube also told residents that his office responds daily to 700 calls, of which about 2 percent come from Lakewood Ranch.

The sheriff, who said his office’s response time in all areas has dropped to about five minutes from 15 minutes several years ago, received a chorus of yea votes when he asked, “Do you need us in here running radar?”

Residents said they want his deputies to catch speeders on Lakewood Ranch Boulevard, Lorraine Road and other locations.

“Bring radar everywhere,” said Don O’Leary, District 2 safety committee chairman.

Steube said crime in Manatee overall was down 12 percent in 2009, although there were 23 homicides.

But crime overall is up 8 percent in the first three months of 2010, Steube said.

Ranch crimes in 2009 included five rapes and four robberies. A robbery occurs when a person is attacked for his or her possessions.

There were 25 aggravated assaults and 12 nonresidential burglaries, 48 residential burglaries and 117 vehicle burglaries.

There were also 90 larcenies, thefts of objects from a neutral location.

The crime total also included nine car heists.

Steube said the increase in rapes from one in 2008 to five in 2009 is a result of more people feeling more comfortable reporting the crime.

The sheriff focused some of his hour-long discussion on how to prevent vehicle burglaries.

“Perpetrators are pulling up in neighborhoods at 2 or 3 a.m. and looking into windows to see if there are laptop computers or other expensive items in there,” Steube said. “They try the car door. But if it is locked they are now breaking the windows.”

Parking cars in the garage is the biggest deterrent, but a neighborhood watch is a close second, Steube added.

“You, the residents, know when something isn’t right,” Steube said. “We want you to call 911 whenever you sense something isn’t right.”

Asked by residents about the effectiveness of a roving patrol, Steube said it is a very good deterrent.

He told residents that he could provide one off-duty deputy for about $100,000 per year.

Right now, Lakewood Ranch pays about a quarter of that for 40 hours a week from a guard who is unarmed and has no arrest powers.

Richard Dymond, Herald reporter, can be reached at 748-0411, ext. 6686.