Dave Eggers: Build Incentives for Good Public Safety

This week, we asked the candidates:

• If you could leave one indelible policy mark on Dunedin, what would it be? 

Dave Eggers responds:

I would leave one related to Public Safety and create an umbrella of safety for residents Dunedin. Natural disasters, man-made disasters and personal safety are areas that can have policies created to better protect all of Dunedin. I would create policy that would encourage the creation of a Neighborhood Watch Programs for all residents. This neighborhood watch would include the traditional watch preventions and communications and assistance by the Sheriff and a website that residents could access. The neighborhood watch would also include programs to help educate families with prescription drug problems, family emergency issues such as family abuse, disaster response preparedness and communication between neighbors and between residents and emergency personnel. In essence, concerns for self, family and neighborhood vary by individual and a system should be in place to assist most concerns.

The watch program would help residents register with our Code Red program, emergency notification calling system currently in place. This system is in place to communicate emergency issues and courses of action for disasters man made or natural. Additional communication systems (ITS) currently used county wide could be placed to give instantaneous real time information on our major roadways enhancing communication to residents.

The watch program would be designed to inform residents of how to get assistance for any family emergencies. Our Social Services committee has created a “211” booklet working closely with the 211 organization. Family issues abuse and drug problems can eat away at any family’s security and having a community care and provide info might help some feel they have support at a time that can prove to be very lonely.

Keeping an eye out for each other immediately makes our City safer and an organized way to communicate and training on what to look for and how to discourage theft would be helpful. The Sheriff would add programs for the community with TV access, computer access or an occasional public safety seminar at our community center. The watch program would just be a way to ensure as much participation and education as possible.

Our Public Safety Committee could suggest incentives for involvement in neighborhood watch. As an example, credits could be created for neighborhoods seeking neighborhood beautification grants. These credits would be based on a percentage of involvement in the community neighborhood watch program. For example, if a neighborhood watch consisted of a minimum of 50 homes and if 50 percent were involved then some credit towards their match in the beautification program could be forthcoming.

In short we all need to be safer, feel safer, whether the problem comes from inside the home, inside the neighborhood or from some disaster that might come to the community. Getting more communication, more education and more involvement through some organized effort such as Neighborhood Watch could only help us all be safer living our every day life right here in Dunedin. Creation of our Social Services and Public Safety Committees are two policy decisions that have made a difference already.

See Also, Bob Hackworth's response.

Related Coverage:

• Dave Eggers Seeks More Awareness for Drug Abuse
• Patch Podium: Dave Eggers on Spurring Development
• Dave Eggers on the Patch Podium: Quality of Life
• Dave Eggers on the Patch Podium: Experience
• Dave Eggers Says City Gets His 'Heart and Soul'