POLICE PROMISE TO INCREASE PRESENCE

City Plans To Enforce Codes To Remove Blight

A day after Davis Court residents in the Fort Myers community of
Dunbar told news-press.com drugs and violence have destroyed their
neighborhood, police have promised to step up enforcement.

In addition, the city's code enforcement manager is mapping a
strategic plan to overhaul the street while his department continues
to work with police to remove breeding grounds for crime, officials
said.

"That area can expect to see increased enforcement," said Lt. Rich
Carr, who commands the special operations unit of the Fort Myers
police. "In regard to drug enforcement, arrests are going to be imminent."

Residents described a street where drugs are sold openly and guns are
frequently shown. Saturday's killing of a Punta Gorda man, Robert
Lee Marshall, 43, heightened tensions and brought demands for an
increased police presence.

James Muwakkil, of the Fort Myers Coalition for Justice, said his
group will meet Thursday to help organize a neighborhood watch on the
street.

"This is all part of our stop-the-violence campaign," he said.
"We're also going to plan a neighborhood cleanup here. When
criminals see an area that's overgrown and filled with trash, they
think no one cares and they're more likely to try to take the
neighborhood over."

For the police, it has been an uphill battle, Carr said. Previous
efforts to organize neighborhood watches on the street received
little, if any, response, he noted.

The neighborhood also has presented obstacles to the police, Carr
said.

"We are also faced with a situation where we make arrests for drug
sales, but the same owners continue to occupy the house," he said.
"The result is we still have the same level of criminal elements
living or coming there."

Code enforcement has been an effective tool, helping police to clean
out blighted areas, Carr said.

The city intends to take it a step further, said Mike Titmuss, code
enforcement manager.

"This year we're working on a totally comprehensive approach to fix
the whole neighborhood," he said. "We're making a series of overlays
that will look at every parcel. What's vacant? Where we have crime?
Then we'll come up with a plan to take to the city council."

"These people told me they're under siege," Muwakkil said.
"They're tired of the shooting, of kids being scared."