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Deputy Ready To Reach Out

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By STEPHEN HAMMILL, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 26, 2008

Updated: 01/24/2008 09:34 pm

CITRUS PARK - Deputy Kristy Udagawa got her first glimpse of community involvement at a recent meeting of the Keystone Civic Association.

More than 90 people came out to talk about growth issues, and to meet their new community resource deputy for the Keystone/Odessa area.
Udagawa fills the position held by Deputy Charity Arthur.

"She has some big shoes to fill," said association President Tom Aderhold, at the meeting, "but she's here, and that means a lot to us."
Udagawa spent two previous years as a field training officer for the county, working with new deputies. Becoming a community resource deputy meant leaving a position that deals exclusively with police officers for one dealing directly with citizens.

"I like talking with people - having conversations," Udagawa said. "I was ready for a change."
Udagawa was born and raised in Tampa near Lake Magdalene. She wanted to be a police officer at an early age but had to leave the city to find work, serving in the Port St. Lucie Police Department from 2001 to 2003.

In her first week as a community resource deputy, she visited citizens, security guards and civic associations, gathering names and phone numbers.

"I'd rather introduce myself in person. There isn't a field training officer for this," she said.

Her job is a hybrid: part patrol deputy, part liaison to the community.

"No day is ever the same - you can't plan your day out in advance," she said.

Some nights she is making arrests. A recent call of a girl sleeping in a vacant Town 'N Country apartment led to a trespassing arrest.

Other days she is handing out fliers in apartment complexes. Neighborhood watches and security guards have her pager number. Residents are encouraged to call her office with questions, comments or suggestions.

"Right now we're offering enrichment grants to communities," she said.

The Sheriff's Office Community Enrichment Program offers nonprofit organizations grants of up to $1,500 for tangible items that serve the community at large, such as park and building improvements and recreational equipment.

Another part of the community resource deputy's job is involvement in programs such as the Apartment Coalition, which meets at 9 a.m. Wednesday at the Sheriff's District III office, 7202 Gunn Highway.

"We're trying to come up with a solution to bad tenants going from one apartment to another," Udagawa said.

In March, the sheriff's office launched its volunteer citizen patrol - a task force of community watchers - for Apollo Beach and Westchase neighborhoods.

A citizen patrol in Town 'N Country has failed to get started, due to a shortage of volunteers, something Udagawa wants to remedy.

"We feel like they're not involved because the word's not out," she said. The sheriff's office will host a meeting at Webb Middle School at 7 p.m. Feb. 7 to rekindle interest.

She spoke at the recent civic association meeting to propose a volunteer citizen patrol for the area.

"It helps us out as CRDs to have extra ears and extra eyes out there," she said.

If residents do one thing to make her job easier, it would be to lock their doors.

"Fifty-nine percent of our burglaries in the northwest area are due to unlocked doors and opened garage doors," she said. "It's scary."

Udagawa's office is at 13260 McCormick Drive but is often out of the office. She can be reached at (813) 264-3990.

Applications for the community enrichment grant program should be postmarked by March 14. They can be picked up at the Sheriff's Office Crime Prevention Bureau, 2008 East Eighth Ave., or at www.hcso.tampa.fl.us.

Reporter Stephen Hammill can be reached at (813) 865-1523 or at shammill@tampatrib.com.

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