WARD 3 LEADER BEGINS ATTEMPT TO LOWER CRIME

Residents Support Councilman's Ideas

LeVon Simms is tired of crime and blight on his Fort Myers neighborhood's
streets.

The newly elected Ward 3 councilman hopes to bring back neighborhood watch
groups in Franklin and Lincoln parks, areas that have been without
consistent resident organizations for the past five years. He also wants to
grow groups already active in other parts of the ward, such as the Lovejoy
neighborhood.

Last year, Fort Myers Police reported one murder and eight attempted
murders or solicitation for murders in Ward 3. The city's only two
homicides this year also were in the ward, which includes most of central
Fort Myers.

Many of the area's problems are drug-related, and too many residents are
becoming used to the crime, accepting it as a way of life, Simms said.

"We've got to change our mindset here," he said. "For some reason, we feel
helpless, so we have a tendency to look the other way."

Simms is meeting with residents neighborhood by neighborhood. He is
optimistic they will back his cause.

St. Charles Street resident Lillian Troup, 65, likes the idea. She has an
11-year-old granddaughter to worry about.

"The kids are out there. Our kids are the most important thing," she said.
"Anything can happen."

Fort Myers police officers use the watch group as their "eyes and ears" on
the streets, spokeswoman Shelly Flynn said.

"It builds the bond between the department and the neighborhood," she said.
"They are successful if the group makes a commitment to meet on a regular
basis."

That has been the problem in Franklin and Lincoln parks, Simms said, noting
neighbors have a lot of incentives to change that.

"It's not only about crime," said Simms, who sees the law-breaking as a
result of other problems such as deteriorating neighborhoods.

Aging residents no longer able to maintain their properties, absentee
landlords who do not want to, and city officials who have not kept the
streets clear share the blame, Simms said.

"These alleys were neglected," he said. "You've got a lot of overgrown
(vegetation) and underbrush."

Such conditions only hurt property values and discourage residents from
investing in their homes, Simms said.

He hopes a more involved community will make a difference. Encouraging more
participation was a platform in his campaign last month to unseat five-term
incumbent Ann Knight.

"You learn who your neighbors are," Simms said. "You have your own code
enforcement officer, your own patrolman.

"That's a start."