Citizen patrol proving valuable Crime curbed in Bonaventure

A month ago Patenotte, a volunteer with the Broward Sheriff's Office's Citizen Observer Patrol (COP), spotted a group of young people standing around a red jeep in a condominium parking lot on Lakeview Drive.

When the teenagers spotted Patenotte and her partner riding in a white COP car equipped with a radio and a yellow light they quickly left.

``Once our car pulls in with the yellow light on it, they get in their car and go,'' Patenotte said.

The scene has been repeated a couple of times since Patenotte started patrolling the West Broward community. She and a growing number of COP patrollers -- 67 in total -- have been helping put a dent in the number of car thefts and acts of vandalism plaguing the unincorporated area.

The crime problem was discussed Monday at the Bonaventure Presidents Council meeting.

``We're helping our community and we're deterring some crime,'' said Patenotte, who volunteers three hours a week.

BSO agrees. ``The aggressive patrols of the COP program has a direct effect on reducing crime,'' said BSO detective Greg Maison. ``It's another presence out there.''

Maison, who has patrolled the area for 14 years, said the last couple of months have seen a steep increase in the number of car thefts: 11 in one month and 10 in another.

``That's a lot for a small area like Bonaventure,'' he said.

Maison said that high number was an aberration -- the result of an organized crime ring. Statistics were not available on the reduction in other crimes.

Maison said the 1,000 volunteer hours a month logged by COP patrols and 12,000-15,000 miles on the single COP car the community uses also have caused drivers to drop their driving speeds.

``People see that car coming up behind them and they can't tell if it's a police car and they slow right down,'' he said.

While out on Bonaventure's streets, COP patrols also have checked on the sick and the elderly, stopped young people from playing in vacant construction areas, run young people out of condominium pools late at night and provided directions to lost motorists.

``We're doing a good job,'' said COP organizer Bernard Hoffman of the Patio Village Homeowners Association. ``The cops love us. We're additional eyes in the area.'' The program was launched in January.

Edwin Jacobson, president of the Bonaventure Presidents Council, said Bonaventure has 3,600 units packed into a small space and that contributes to car break-ins and car thefts.

``We don't have very many circumstances where people can put cars into garages and lock them,'' he said.

COP volunteers patrol from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. each night with extra patrols during the weekends and after school when kids may be idle. Volunteers, who are trained by BSO, radio the sheriff's department or call officers on cellular phones if they see something suspicious. They do not get involved in incidents.

``People here feel a lot better,'' said COP organizer Hoffman.

This summer the number of COPs volunteers is down because snowbirds have gone back home. ``We desperately need volunteers for the summer,'' said Patenotte.

To volunteer, call 384-6962.