The Fort Myers Police Department is cracking down on people who illegally carry firearms. Undercover vice and uniformed patrol removed 27-guns from city streets for the month of December. Operation Safe Neighborhood is a proactive approach to reduce crime and improve quality of life in the City of Fort Myers. A task force assigned to the operation works to identify and arrest people that commit violent crimes and to arrest individuals who illegally possess firearms. In addition to gun interdiction the directed patrols have had positive results:
806 Citizen Contacts
207 Traffic Stops
172 Traffic Tickets
55 Arrests
39 Felony Charges
Chief Doug Baker unveiled the operation to community leaders in 2008 and says the anticrime effort couldn’t be possible without a partnership with the community. “The unit is enhanced by intelligence information from concerned citizens and informants. Tipsters can remain anonymous. Every illegal gun taken off our streets is one less gun that can be used against an innocent citizen, gun down an officer or carelessly end up in the hands of a child.” Police removed 264 guns from City streets in 2011. A total of 1,277 guns have been removed from City streets since the effort began in 2008.
Shelly Flynn
Public Information Officer
239-321-7721