Residents in Orlando’s District 1 learned about the crime trends in their neighborhoodfrom police Chief Eric Smith Wednesday night at the Storey Park Clubhouse.”Really, to be honest, you don’t have a lot of issues some of the other areas have,” Smith said. “You have a very safe community, which is good.”District 1 is the largest and fastest growing district in Orange County. It spans northern and western portions of the county and includes Hunter’s Creek, the Town of Oakland, and Williamsburg.Chief Smith said crime is down 7% for Orlando and shootings are down 15% across the city.“Your shootings went up just a tick. You had two shootings, one on Tradeport — an employee got fired and shot up the business, nobody was hit, we did arrest him — and then the Wawa shooting. Someone drove by and shot a car. The person didn’t want to prosecute,” he said.The chief also introduced neighbors to officers patrolling their area and those in charge of everything from forensics to schools, such as School Resource Officer Nikia Wallace. Afterwards, residents asked questions.Sheri Lynch was concerned about squatters, speeding, and stolen property in her neighborhood, Meadows at Boggy Creek.”They’ve gotten so bold. They’re going into our community with cameras on the homes and they’re stealing property right outside,” she said.One of the of the biggest issues was e-bikes.”We want to make sure the kids are safe, (that) the drivers are safe and feel comfortable driving, and we want to make sure the kids know the rules of the road,” said Orlando District 1 Commissioner Tom Keen.The chief said the county, city, and school board are all working on language to address this.Smith also talked about the department’s first drone program, comprised of 11 drones in nine locations across the city which can get to a location even before the officers do.”We’ve seen people committing shootings. We’ve seen burglars coming out of windows with the drones,” he said.

ORLANDO, Fla. —

Residents in Orlando’s District 1 learned about the crime trends in their neighborhood
from police Chief Eric Smith Wednesday night at the Storey Park Clubhouse.

“Really, to be honest, you don’t have a lot of issues some of the other areas have,” Smith said. “You have a very safe community, which is good.”

District 1 is the largest and fastest growing district in Orange County. It spans northern and western portions of the county and includes Hunter’s Creek, the Town of Oakland, and Williamsburg.

Chief Smith said crime is down 7% for Orlando and shootings are down 15% across the city.

“Your shootings went up just a tick. You had two shootings, one on Tradeport — an employee got fired and shot up the business, nobody was hit, we did arrest him — and then the Wawa shooting. Someone drove by and shot a car. The person didn’t want to prosecute,” he said.

The chief also introduced neighbors to officers patrolling their area and those in charge of everything from forensics to schools, such as School Resource Officer Nikia Wallace.

Afterwards, residents asked questions.

Sheri Lynch was concerned about squatters, speeding, and stolen property in her neighborhood, Meadows at Boggy Creek.

“They’ve gotten so bold. They’re going into our community with cameras on the homes and they’re stealing property right outside,” she said.

One of the of the biggest issues was e-bikes.

“We want to make sure the kids are safe, (that) the drivers are safe and feel comfortable driving, and we want to make sure the kids know the rules of the road,” said Orlando District 1 Commissioner Tom Keen.

The chief said the county, city, and school board are all working on language to address this.

Smith also talked about the department’s first drone program, comprised of 11 drones in nine locations across the city which can get to a location even before the officers do.

“We’ve seen people committing shootings. We’ve seen burglars coming out of windows with the drones,” he said.