FORT MYERS, Fla.- The Fort Myers Police Department is cracking down on people who illegally carry firearms. Undercover vice and uniformed patrol removed 44 guns from City streets during the months of June and July.

Operation Safe Neighborhood is a proactive approach to reduce crime and improve quality of life in the City of Fort Myers. A task force assigned to the operation works to identify and arrest people that commit violent crimes and to arrest individuals who illegally possess firearms.

In addition to gun interdiction the directed patrols have had positive results for the past two months:

6,937 Citizen Contacts

2,118 Traffic Stops

2,169 Traffic Tickets

343 Arrests

187 Felony Charges

Chief Doug Baker unveiled the operation to community leaders in 2008 and says the anticrime effort couldn’t be possible without a partnership with the community.

“The unit is enhanced by intelligence information from concerned citizens and informants. Tipsters can remain anonymous. Every illegal gun taken off our streets is one less gun that can be used against an innocent citizen, gun down an officer or carelessly end up in the hands of a child,” Baker said.

Since the start of this year, 198 guns have been removed from City streets.