Violent and property crimes in Cape Coral drop significantly

Good news if you live or work in Cape Coral: violent and property crimes are down significantly. Authorities say part of the credit goes to you.

Donna Lemons has lived along a southeast Cape Coral street for years.

“When I first moved in, you didn’t hear that much about burglaries, robberies, this sort of thing,” Lemons said. “But you’re hearing it now. You turn on the TV and there it is.”

Lemons installed a Ring doorbell because it has a camera providing surveillance on most of the front of her home.

“For safety sake,” she said, “that’s why that’s there.”

It is because of neighbors like Lemons that Cape Coral Police Dept. said crime numbers are going down. CCPD said so far in 2019 compared to all of last year, violent and property crimes are down 14.6% and 19.4%.

CCPD credited the major decrease on more patrols; its “see something, say something” campaign; and your doorbell. While some say police departments are advertising for Ring doorbells, CCPD Master Sgt. Patrick O’Grady told us the Ring technology is an excellent tool for them to use. Some of the best evidence they can use in their police work is video evidence.

For instance, if somebody commits a crime on your street, CCPD can speak with everybody in that area. The Ring technology helps authorities in their investigation one step further.

“We can show where they were going and just show the timeline of the events that happened,” Master Sgt. O’Grady said. “It makes it easier for us to pinpoint where to start.”