LCSO increasing patrols as snowbird season begins

LEE COUNTY, Fla. – Jerry Sutton has lived in Bonita Springs for the past six years and knows snowbird season all too well.

“Two months ago you could go to the grocery store and walk down the aisle and you wouldn’t see anybody. And now you’re bumping one another with the grocery carts,” Sutton told WINK News.

As beaches and parking lots fill up and the roadways get more and more crowded, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office is ready to take action.

“We know that the numbers are starting to inflate a little bit in the county, and that’s also causing us to have to step up our patrols and get out there more and do some aggressive things to keep things under control,” said Lt. Jeff Dektas.

Dektas says deputies will be focusing on areas like Fort Myers Beach, the Daniels Parkway corridor and Bonita Beach.

“We take other units and we move those into those areas. We have traffic units and we have a lot of different assets that we can utilize to push out there to give us more patrols throughout the clock,” said Dektas.

Sutton welcomes the extra patrols at Bonita Beach, saying they can help prevent people from getting inside unlocked cars and stealing valuables from inside.

“I tell people when they come up here… lock your cars when you come to the beach, don’t leave stuff out where they can look in and see it because you come down here early in the morning and you’ll see people walking through the lot, and they’re not here to go to the beach,” said Sutton.

Dektas says the patrols are already underway, and will get reinforcements come the beginning of the year. LCSO is currently in the process of hiring for 35 added positions.