Vehicle Patrols

Neighborhood Watch Patrols are a long established crime prevention program. There are several websites on the subject. New York State Attorney - Eugene, Oregon - Wareham Massachussetts - Oakland Kansas

What happens on a Vehicle Patrol?

To become a member of the patrol you have to become a trained member of the Neighborhood Watch. Tampa Police Department provides the training. There are rules to follow.

You never patrol alone. Each vehicle has a minimum of two people. You don't carry weapons. Each vehicle has signs noting it as a NW patrol vehicle

Initially the two patrol groups patrolled differently. The OSHNA group tended to operate in wolf packs one or two days a week. The SESH group tended to operate with one vehicle at a time at mutliple days/time of the week. The just patrolled their own neighborhoods. Eventually both groups expanded to patrol each others area.

We carry a large spotlight to put some light on the activity of the prostututes and their johns. Sometimes we acted in a preventive manner, be shadowing the prostitute up and down the street, pushing them out of the neighborhood.

We have interrupted some criminal activity. One time we stopped a burglary of a tire store. Most of the time nothing happens. We help people who have flat tires or dead batteries.

My style was not to talk to the prostitute and not to respond to their attempts get me upset. Others would engage in banter.

We have engaged in confrontations with the Johns.

One night we were patrolling and had stopped at New Orleans just off Nebraska to watch a crack prostitute cross Nebraska. Then behind us up pulls some guy in a car. The prostitute gets in the cars. I become incensed that this occurred right behind us, in a vehicle laden with NW patrol signs. I lost it and got out and confronted the guy. I asked him what the hell he was doing picking up a a prostitute. He replied that she just got in the car. I told him to then tell her to get out. He did and she did. I told him to then get out of the neighborhood or and he sped off. Pretty stupid on my part.

We have had confrontations with the prostitutions. Several have been sent to prison as a result.

One night (3/24/04) as we disrupted Harvey Bailey's business.

"Thursday night, while patrolling we had an incident with transgender prostitute Harvey Jerome Bailey, DOB: 1/23/61. We first saw him sitting at a Northbound bus
stop on the east side of Nebraska around Shadowlawn. We proceeded directly down to MLK/Nebraska (at 10:24 PM) where we determined there was still one city bus running (#2) due to arrive at MLK at 10:28 PM and Hillsborough at 10:32 P.M. We speculated that perhaps he was waiting for a bus. Some time later (around 10:50 P.M. or so) we were patrolling north bound on Nebraska and spotted him hanging around the appliance
store at on the east side of Nebraska corner Louisiana. We spotlighted him. He began cursing and crossed the street saying he would throw things and break our windows. We moved on and accompanied him south on Nebraska, either staying slightly ahead or tailing behind. He would make threateninggestures as if he was picking up something. At Cayuga/Nebraska , he picked up a white rock and threw it at us while we were on Cayuga. We moved back and the rock missed the vehicle we were riding in.

At that point we called TPD.

At Emma/Nebraska he threw another rock while we were on Emma, and he missed us only because we moved away.

Around the Genessee area he had a bottle in his hand. As we went by we heard it break. Unknown whether it broke on the street sidewalk or something else. When
he reached MLK we called TPD again. Event Number 157926.

2 Officers responded. I was wearing a Vehicle Patrol T-shirt, our vehicle was also so identified, and I indicated my affiliation when I made both of my phone calls.

The Officer who seemed to be taking the lead and who spoke to us was Officer XXXXX. She performed an interview and came over to us where I explained what had occurred and I indicated I wanted to press what ever charges were appropriate. It was not
completely clear to me whether a report was taken. If not I would prefer that one be taken.

(In a side note, Harvey was interviewed in front of the KC lounge and at some point prostitute Joseph Washington popped up and joined the event.)

Officer's XXXXX attitude, both in this instance and in a prior encounter a few weeks ago, while not dismissive, did not match the very positive attitudes
of all of the other TPD officers I have encountered in the past months. My perception of her attitude was almost as if she rather not be bothered.

In contast, the more typical attitude is shown in our encouter with Sergeant Brian Dugan, who made a point of seeking us out while we were patrolling, advised of
of an operation he had running and asked us we had any info as to prostitution activity. He was very positive, concerned and interested in dealing with the
problem of prostitution. Good guy!"

I emailed this to then Major McNamara. As soon as he read it, he had an officer come out and take a report. Harvey Bailey had already been arrested on other charges. TPD added "throwing a deadly missile at an occupied conveyance" for which he was later convicted and sentenced to 36 months in prison.

At least 3 other prostitutes were arrested on felony charges after assaulting OSHNA patrol member's vehicles. Those members can their stories better than I. These incidents helped form the basis of an anti NW harrassment law created by then Capt Teague.

After those incidents things quieted down once the prostitutes realized we could not be intimated.