BRADENTON — Young people crowding the streets with loud music and residents hearing gunshots blast near their homes were among the concerns of area residents questioning Bradenton Police Department officials Saturday morning in a open forum.
About 10 members of a local activist group, Manatee County Community Action Team, met with police in a regular meeting to discuss residents’ concerns and work together to clean up neighborhoods.
Louise Bacon said it’s difficult to get to her house with the number of people who routinely park cars and stand in the streets near her home. She said she sometimes hears gunfire.
“(Dispatchers) want to know if I’m going out and seeing it. You know I’m not going out and seeing it,” said Bacon, a long-time Bradenton resident, who lives in the 1100 block of Eighth Street Court West.
“All the people don’t live on the street,” she said. “You can’t even use that street and we live here.”
Community members suggested creating a task force to solve the problem.
However, police said they are working with limited resources and are understaffed in patrolling the streets. Hiring has been frozen with budget cuts.
“We’ve lost people and we’re not able to replace them. Every request we get, the Street Crimes Unit does the best they can until the next request is made,” said Bradenton Capt. Russ Tibbitts. “I don’t have people to create a task force. … It’s very difficult for me to look you in the eye and tell you that, but I don’t have the people.”
Police suggested residents continue to call when problems arise, but to also contact city code enforcement to clean up neighborhoods.
Bradenton Sgt. Preston Gajan suggested community leaders ride with police officers and step out of a patrol car to speak to young adults when problems arise in the street.
“We have to pick up the slack ourselves,” said Raphael Allen, a member in the group, responding to the suggestion.
“You have to get people who are going to step up to the plate. You get people who live in that community and there’s a fear of retaliation. Once they (ride along), who’s going to be there to protect them after?”
Residents also thanked officers for their efforts.
Clovia Russell, another member of the group, said police presence has been unobtrusive in her neighborhood.
“I saw an officer writing his report. He was just there observing what was going on. He was being visible,” she said. “People don’t know when you’re going to be there.”
Other residents felt frustrated with crime shifting from one neighborhood to the next.
Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Capt. B.G. Dixon, who also attended the meeting, took reports of crime spreading to a nearby car wash after hearing complaints from community members.
Tibbitts said despite the best efforts of law enforcement there will always be crime.
“We’re not going to be able to eliminate drug dealing. We’re not going to be able to eliminate crime associated with unemployment and joblessness,” he said. “We have to just move it. That is the state of police work today.”
Beth Burger, crime reporter, can be reached at 708-7919.
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