MAITLAND, Fla. – Community members in Maitland held a forum with the Maitland Police Department at the First Baptist Church on Monday evening.
Police said that, after a slight uptick in the number of car break-ins during the summer, a group of residents asked them questions about safety.
Erin Baker said that she noticed a lot of her neighbors posting on Facebook about crimes in their area, so she's working side by side with law enforcement agencies to make sure everything is reported.
"We were just seeing it over and over and over again. I think it was a lot of times moms getting together and saying we want to make sure that our neighborhood is safe for our children," said Baker. "The city has been great to partner with us and try to get more streetlights into the neighborhood, not only for crime prevention, but also just for safety of pedestrians, for our kids waiting at bus stops early in the morning."
Police said that Maitland is still one of the safest cities in Central Florida. Law enforcement also said that, during extra patrols, officers will spot things that could attract criminals.
"Patrols (go out) in the area, and multiple homes overnight have garage doors open. That's just an open invitation for a criminal element to enter your property, to invade your privacy," said Lt. Louis Grindle.
Maitland police also showed residents how they have a crime map on the police department's website, with different symbols to designate certain types of crimes, such as vehicle thefts.
Residents were also told that some of the issues, such as street lighting, would be best to address with the city.