FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Friday, Lee County's Sheriff Mike Scott and Fort Myers Police Chief Dennis Eads shared the results of their new combined task force created to tackle one of Lee County's biggest problems.
"This is a very safe community. Southwest Florida is a great place to be but unfortunately we had an inordinate number of violent crimes, specifically homicides, in a pretty concentrated area in this community, " said the sheriff.
To a packed room at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, the two agency heads said the task force was responsible for over 170 arrests and the confiscation of 15 illegal guns.
The spike in crimes has led to two agencies combining forces to create a new task force responsible for targeting crime in the Dunbar area.
The task force, however, isn't restricted to one city. "Criminals have no bounds. They go everywhere. That's why it was important when we first started this that all Fort Myers officers were deputized," explained the chief.
"They are working hard. They are doing a lot of things. They are uncovering a lot of information that needs to be uncovered. We're identifying criminals and we're trying to get them in jail."
