A crowd of nearly 100 people packed the City Hall chambers for a community advisory board meeting this past Tuesday evening, January 24, 2023. Thankfully Livestream video was available to residents, many of whom watched the almost two-hour meeting from the comfort of their homes. The special called BOC meeting that took place prior discussed and set in motion the search for an appropriate Shelby County Sherriff Office (SCSO) substation within Lakeland boarders.
The Community Board, founded by Commissioner Dial, who also serves as a liaison to the board, looks forward to more gatherings like the one held Tuesday. A large host of Shelby County Sheriff’s Office leadership were in attendance to answer questions, the best they could, about the recent homicide in Windward Slopes. Furthermore, their presence was to address the agenda topic of the evening, in short – Neighborhood Watch. They briefly discussed the process and opportunities to host “Cop Stop” events. Several residents after the meeting discussed hosting over the next few months.
One officer discussed how he lives just on the border of Bartlett and Lakeland and considers Lakeland his backyard. The increase of SCSO patrols in the last seven days around Lakeland was noticed by all those who spoke, but several questioned how many are committed to the town on a regular basis. The answer ranged from one vehicle dedicated to upwards of almost ten that could be circulating based on monitoring for speeding, etc. Although the vehicle numbers were ambivalent the focus was prevention through doing things to avoid criminals in the first place and for the city of Lakeland to secure a substation.
