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Waverunner - I grew up in Auburndale so I know the area you are talking about... but I thought Inwood Elem was the S.O. jurisdiction? Either way, keep calling in! If the dispatcher is rude or not helpful ask to speak with a dispatch supervisor. When you call in state that you are requesting a special patrol due to speeders in the school zone and tell them what you've seen and that it is a frequent problem. The ones that are most likely to get out there and be successful (it's hard to get a patrol car on the side of the road in that area) is a motor unit. Those guys/gals primary function is to run radar/laser and issue tickets. There are a couple in Winter Haven who are hardcore... I think they'd write their spouses tickets, lol. Call the P.D. and ask to speak with someone in the motor unit. If it is the S.O. jurisdiction do the same thing as far as calling it in. You can also ask to speak with a patrol Sergeant or a patrol Lieutenant. I guess what I'm saying is if you don't get help at the first level go to the next. The response from the man your husband spoke with is very upsetting as it is our job to "Protect and Serve". I would have gone straight to a supervisor over that one. I'd be willing to bet every law enforcement agency in this county has recorded lines by now and supervisors can pull tapes to listen to a problem if they know about it. Winter Haven PD has gone through a lot of changes lately and not necessarily for the better. While Winter Haven PD is still Winter Haven PD they no longer have their own Communications Section - that has been taken over by the Sheriff's Office. And I'll get into that more in a minute... I do agree with Rella if you can't get a response from the Chief then the City Manager is your next option. I'd give him another call to see if you can reach him, maybe he didn't get the message the first time?!

Melissa - that dispatcher you spoke with was out of line on soooo many levels. I would have asked to speak to a desk sergeant (dispatch supervisor) right then and there. As I suggested to waverunner - keep calling in about these things. The squeaky wheel gets oiled first. I think it would also be helpful if you saw a deputy in your area that you speak with him/her directly - and just tell them what's happening in your area.
Now onto my opinion of the Sheriff's Office (disclaimer - this is my opinion and is only an opinion)... I do agree that Sheriff Judd is a good Sheriff - I just have an issue with the amount of time he likes to spend on camera and the fact that, it appears, he is trying to create a "Metro" law enforcement agency and take over all the police departments. The Sheriff's Office isn't the be all end all. They have the same issues as police departments - they have manpower issues, they have people that call in or are out on vacation - they just have access to more "toys". The deputies (the great majority of them) do the best they can and they are proud of the jobs they do - but their sectors are so large that they can't help having slow response times. If they are in their north area and the call comes in for south by the time they cover the distance to get there and have to deal with drivers that REFUSE to get out of their way it can take a while. Also, with the S.O. taking over dispatching duties for agencies such as Auburndale and Winter Haven you've got all these extra voices on the radio yet the same channel to do it on. I can not begin to tell you how many times I have been told an officer or deputy was trying to call something in on the radio but couldn't get through because of all the other people talking. One of my best friends was trying to call in that she was attempting to stop a car that was NOT yielding for her and it took minutes to get it in - in law enforcement sometimes we don't have minutes. Most gun fights are over in SECONDS. Anyway, I think you will find the majority of us in this line of work are here because we do care and we want to help - you will run across the occasional brat - you will catch someone on a bad day. Try to remember you don't know what call came in just before yours. I am NOT making excuses for someone coming across as uncaring or unprofessional - but I've been on both sides of the radio - I've been a dispatcher and I've been an officer and I know that in one second you could be dealing with a mother screaming that her baby is dead to answering the next call that there's a cat in the tree. As an officer you can go from seeing the worst in human beings or seeing someone you know/love hurt or killed to dealing with a child whos bike was just stolen. All of us (from dispatcher to officers to EMS workers) are human and we see/hear all these things that would make most people sick and it does take its toll - but we keep doing what we do because of the difference we do make - and we have to go from that horrible situation to the next without pause in between because the next person needs us. Again, that does not excuse unprofessionalism at all.
I hope that I've at least partly answered your question and now that I've typed a book I will step off my soap box, lol.

Thank You Chanel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Waverider

I understand your frustration about the speeders. I live in Inwood and travel 26th Street and Avenue G all of the time. As a former police officer and dispatcher (gosh I think I need to talk to chanelprincess more) The speeding is out of control. Inwood Elementary is in the WHPD jurisdiction. Please call Sgt David Fourges, (863-291-5858 ext 2235) he is over the traffic/motor unit and can set up something for you. I know that the Sheriff's Office has gotten better about 26th Street, but Avenue G is still horrible. Another issue is that the city limits stop at 23rd Street.

My issue is as you state the amount of walkers in the area, and there are no sidewalks on 26th Street. This is a curvy road with lots of speeders, ditches on both side and no where for these very young children to walk except in the road. It frustrates me.

I am lucky that my son will go to Garner which is 3 blocks from my house and has sidewalks, but I really feel for those parents who have no other choice but to let their children walk. I would be a nervous wreck every morning just wandering if my kid got to school.

Pun'kinsmom - wow! We may even know each other, lol!

Thanks for clearing up the jurisdiction thing - but I'm not sure the 291-5858 number works anymore - when the S.O. took over their dispatch services their number changed (at least on night shift I have to dial this number) - if you can't get through on 5858 try 534-6225.

Something else I thought of - does that school have a School Resource Officer?? My daughters school has one assigned and he is there sometimes (he has more than one school to cover). Anyway, you could talk to the S.R.O. and advise him/her of your concerns. When I was an S.R.O. the school needed me on morning and afternoon duties on campus so I wasn't able to go sit and work traffic in the school zone but if you make him aware then he could in turn get someone else out there.
Knowing that the jurisdiction is Winter Haven is really good - as I said their Motor units have quite the "reputation" lol. I have a lead foot but I remind myself in W.H. to keep my speed down. They've got some really good "hiding spots" and you're right up on them before you know they're there (and by then they've already got your speed!)

OK I am so going to pm you (as soon as I figure out how), cause I was an SRO also. I believe that 1 SRO has to cover all of the elementary schools in WH. I believe the high school and the middle school have one assigned on campus. Yeah I worked for WHPD and know most of the guys and they do have a reputation. They are very sneaky and thier new BMW bikes are awesome. They have more horsepower than the old Harley's.

As far as the 291-5858 # it still works, there is a automated message now that you can still dial an extension at the PD. The new number for dispatch has changed.

I still work in the field in WH and have to call the PD quite a lot and I hate the SO dispatching. I know that there is alot of kinks to work out but when you dial 911 because of a fight and they have no idea where you are, who to send and 20 minutes later (after the fight is over and the parties left) you call back to cancel and they still don't know where you are it sucks! Hopefully these kinks will work out, but I have not heard much better from the officers either. As you said they can not get on the radio, which is a major officer safety issue. Hopefully no one gets hurt out there because of it.