Lee County seeing an increase in summertime crime

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FORT MYERS, Fla.- From carjackings to graffiti, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office says summertime generates more crime.

“That’s a lot more serious than just a simple criminal mischief,” said Pamella Seay, a justice studies professor at Florida Gulf Coast University. “It increases when they have nothing else to do.”

With students out of school, “if they are not occupied they are going to get very creative,” agreed Marion Redden-Sims.

“If you don’t have activities for them to be involved in, they are going to find some of their very own,” Seay added.

Over the weekend, a message of hate was sprayed on the Revival International Church in Fort Myers. Investigators say it had writings about ISIS, threats against African- Americans, Hispanics, and law enforcement.

“We are still strong, we are still strong on our faith and we are going to still go forward,” said Fransuas Hernandez, a leader at the church. “It doesn’t matter what it said or anything like that, it doesn’t affect our faith.”

While it isn’t clear how old the perpetrators are, criminologists say these types of crimes increase in the summer when children are less supervised.

“It’s better to invest in children with activities, especially in the summer, to be able to keep them occupied and that helps because an idle mind really is the devil’s workshop,” Redden-Sims said.

The FBI is involved in the vandalism investigation at the church. Those responsible could face serious charges, regardless of their age.

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