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Police activity at schools falls from 2023 to 2024, district says; weapon incidents decreased by half
Summary
The district reported a year‑to‑year drop in combined arrests, civil citations and notes‑to‑appear across major local law‑enforcement agencies after implementation of Open Gate measures; the district also reported a 50% drop in weapon‑related charges between the two years.
Dave Newland, the district’s chief of safety, security and fleet operations, presented a summer safety update to the Lee County School Board on Aug. 5 that included a year‑to‑year comparison of police activity at schools.
Newland reported that combined incidents (arrests, civil citations and notes to appear) across partnering agencies decreased in 2024 when compared with 2023. For the district overall, he said the combination of those incident types totaled 934 in 2024, a 27% decline from the comparable 2023 period. For the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, the district reported a 19% decrease, while Fort Myers Police Department had a 9% decline and Cape Coral saw a 45% drop in the incidents the district tracks.
Newland cautioned that the data include lower‑level offenses such as tobacco violations, not only serious crimes, and he highlighted one notable finding: weapon charges reported to the district fell by about 50% from 2023 to 2024. "That was I thought was a pretty big difference," he said.
The district attributed some of the declines to measures the schools have implemented and said it will continue to monitor both formal incident rates and perceptions of safety through surveys and ongoing reviews. Board members praised the implementation of Open Gate entry protocols and asked district staff to continue communication with families about the procedures for sporting and after‑hours events; Newland said staff are coordinating with law enforcement and athletics to develop consistent event safety measures.
Ending: The district will continue weekly monitoring at identified sites, track law‑enforcement activity across agencies and follow up with families and schools about event protocols and perceptions of safety as the school year begins.
