THE ALARM COMPANY'S DISPATCHER IQ IS IN QUESTION

There's an interesting story in today's Winter Haven News Chief about thieves "cleaning out" a Lake Wales business of nearly $100,000 of high end motorcycles and ATVs from a business over the weekend.

So, you ask, where were Lake Wales police?

The problem was not with the LWPD, it was with the Lakeland alarm company. They received 38 seperate alarms from the business between 8:00 and 10:00 PM Sunday evening...but didn't contact Lake Wales police! The dispatcher apparantly believed it was from the business' other location in north Lakeland, and contacted the Lakeland PD, who found no sign of burglary.

As a result of the error, 26 cycles and all-terrain vehicles were taken. Two motorcycles were discarded about three blocks away, and a third was recovered shortly thereafter. It seems that the thief or thieves knew what they wanted, as they only took high-end vehicles, leaving the economy and cruiser-size motorcycles behind.

Someone else tried to contact Lake Wales police to report a possible burglary there, but it was sent to an officer's personal voice mail, and he didn't pick up the message until the following day!