ORLANDO, Fla. — Homeowners in several Orange County communities are focusing on cleaning up their neighborhoods to prevent crime.  County Commissioner Christine Moore is encouraging residents to focus on cleaning up overgrown brush and trash, and report infrastructure problems so the county can fix them.

What You Need To Know

  • When Commissioner Christine Moore took office in 2018, she began to encourage communities in her district to adopt the idea of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, or CPTED

  • Crime data from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office shows since 2019, car break-ins in the Lockhart community have gone down by nearly 60%

  • Lockhart homeowners reguarly do Saturday morning cleanups where they clear overgrown brush from the side of the roads and intersections

  • Moore says the county is also making improvements in the Lockhart and surrounding areas by installing more speed pavement markings, flashing speed beacons and LED lighting to prevent crime

In Lockhart, dozens of residents are involved, and take part in regular Saturday morning cleanups. They said their efforts are paying off with a reduction in crime.

“For it to be a safer, cleaner place that people are going to want to come and live here, give it a much better reputation, and I think we’re doing it,” said Toni Cheatle, a Lockhart resident.

Crime data from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office shows since 2019, car break-ins in the Lockhart community have gone down by nearly 60%.

Residents like Cheatle know the more brush is overgrown in areas alongside the road and near intersections, the more inviting those areas are to criminal activity.

“They can hide, they can throw garbage in there, it’s not maintained, and they can do whatever they want with it, and along brings crime,” said Cheatle. “People see us out working and get the sense of - oh there’s people taking ownership in this, they’re taking pride in it, we’ll leave this area alone – there’s too many people involved.”

When Commissioner Moore took office in 2018, she began to encourage communities in her district to adopt the idea of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, or CPTED.

She admits in other neighborhoods, not as many residents are coming out to cleanups like in Lockhart. She’d like to see more homeowners engaged.

“I think what we’ve learned from all of this was that you have to have a community association like the People of Lockhart, so last fall we started people of Wekiva Springs, and it would be my goal to start a one in South Apopka and one in that North Pine Hills area - so we’re working towards that,” said Commissioner Moore.

Moore says the more residents clean up, the more the county is able to do to help.

“So we redid this whole thing, had it restriped - the county did - and all new sod, and now we see people coming out to do more,” said Moore. “It was a trash dump in here.”

Moore has Corridor Chiefs like Cheatle report any illegal dumping or infrastructure issues they might spot alongside the road, like damaged walls or road pavement problems.

“Anywhere where I drive, I’m looking to see where there are discrepancies of what we have to do, and turning them in,” said Cheatle.

Cheatle says the creation of a mural painted along Edgewater Drive three years ago really revived pride in the community, and jumpstarted collective involvement in the cleanup efforts.

Commissioner Moore says the county is also making improvements in the Lockhart and surrounding areas by installing more speed pavement markings, flashing speed beacons and LED lighting to prevent crime.