LAKE WALES, Fla. — Keith Thompson has noticed a change. Even at his home in Lake Wales, he’s been a victim of crime.
“My truck was broken into over the last few years,” he said.
A report commissioned by the City of Lake Wales, published in 2022, concluded the city’s crime rate was in the “mid-range” compared to other similar-sized cities. However, Thompson, a city commissioner, said the crime in 2023 feels different.
“If it’s not on the rise in terms of frequency, it’s definitely on the rise in terms of severity,” he said.
The latest case: a double fatal shooting. Lake Wales Police said one man was killed at the Lake Wales Housing Authority Grove Manor complex around 8 p.m. Sunday before another man was discovered dead hours later in what detectives think was a retaliatory shooting.
Back in May, a man was killed in a police shooting after they said he killed his girlfriend and her three kids.
Before that, in April, two died in a murder-suicide during a hostage situation in Lake Wales.
Monday, ABC Action News talked to half-a-dozen people near the site of the latest shootings. While they asked not to be identified out of fear of retaliation, most said the violence is getting out of hand and wish they could move.
They said they would like to see more police patrols and presence in their community before shootings and other violent crimes. Some said the police should establish a substation in the area of town that sees the most crime. Finally, some said they want to see officers stay with the department longer to develop richer, stronger relationships with the community they serve.
Thompson said he would like to see the city engage in more community policing, hire more officers, and keep the good ones by paying them more.
“I would like to see us improve that over the next few years — become way more competitive with other municipalities especially,” Thompson said.
Its recommendations said the department should address its starting pay and pay scale steps. It also said the department should strengthen community policing efforts by planning events and creating neighborhood watch and other crime prevention programs.
Thompson, however, thinks the recent violence is also a cultural problem.
“We’re turning to violence to solve our problems, and I’m not a fan of it,” he said.
He also thinks financial problems are the root of many crimes. In Lake Wales, as the once-dominant citrus industry shrinks, he said a number of jobs have been lost.
“We need to replace those jobs with higher wage jobs, and they’re just not coming as quickly as we need them to,” he said.
Ultimately, he said there isn’t a magic wand to fix the violence but thinks the city can make progress in the next few years.
