Crime and Law Enforcement

The Orlando Police Department(*) (OPD) is responsible for law enforcement within the city limits of Orlando, Florida.

 

The Orlando Police Department has partnered with CrimeReports.com to bring you up-to-date crime maps for Orlando. For more information click on the map or the link above.

 

OPD currently employs over 700 sworn officers and over 100 civilian employees serving the citizens of Orlando through crime prevention, criminal investigations and apprehension, neighborhood policing, involvement through the schools with young people and overall delivery of police services.

 

The Orlando Police Department may be contacted at:

Emergency: 911

Non-Emergency: (321) 235-5300

CrimeLine's Mission is to increase the safety of the Central Florida community by assisting law enforcement agencies in removing undesirable individuals from the community.

It achieves this by motivating citizens to provide information on felony crimes by offering financial rewards and guaranteeing anonymity.

 

For information leading to a felony arrest, you may be eligible for a reward of up to $1000. You don't have to give your name, and your identity will be protected. You may report information through its website or by calling.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is warning consumers to be aware of a new twist on a multi-state scam targeting utility customers through email. Both Florida Power and Light (FPL) and other utility customers have reported receiving phony utility bills through email. If you receive an email with a bill that looks different from your normal bill, is from a different utility company, or asks for personal information like your Social Security or credit card numbers, delete the email immediately and no dot click on any links as they may contain malicious spam.

 

Consumers are advised to authenticate any bill by verifying the account number on the email with your actual account number. Be suspicious of emails that claim a past due balance and threats of interruption of service. Contact the utility provider directly if you're unsure of any notices received.

 

For additional information, contact the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services at www.800helpfla.com(*) or by calling 1-800-HELP-FLA (435-7352) within Florida, 1-800-FL-AYUDA (352-9832) en Español or (850) 410-3800 from outside of Florida.

According to OPD, half of all residential burglaries involve vehicles being stolen from the home. In half of the cases where vehicles were stolen, the homes burglarized were entered with no signs of forced entry (no broken windows or doors). Some of the stolen property included vehicles (various makes and models), TV, GPS unit, purse, cell phone, keys.

 

You can reduce your risk of becoming a victim by doing the following:

• Report all suspicious activity, persons and vehicles. You are most familiar with what activity is normal for your area.
• Remind neighbors to lock all doors and windows and to set the alarm for their home, business and vehicles
• Remind neighbors to remove all visible valuables from inside of the vehicle
• Be alert to your surroundings and get to know your neighbors
• Ensure your parking area has ample lighting (use of energy conserving lighting is recommended)
• Make sure serial numbers are recorded for the property that you own
• Join your Neighborhood Watch and stay active
• Firearms should be properly secured. Make, model and serial numbers should be documented

**** Call 911 when someone is acting suspiciously ****

To keep yourself up to date on current crimes within your area, please visit www.crimereports.com

At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a federal court has halted a massive sweepstakes scam that has taken more than $11 million from consumers throughout the United States and dozens of other countries throughout the world. The FTC seeks to permanently end the allegedly illegal practices that have continued for seven years, and return money to victims.

 

According to the FTC’s complaint, Liam O. Moran, a resident of Ventura, California, and his companies, mass mail personalized letters to millions of consumers telling them that they have won a large cash prize, typically more than $2 million with bold, large-type statements such as “Over TWO MILLION DOLLARS in sweepstakes has been reserved for you.” Consumers are told that they can collect the prize by sending in a small fee of approximately $20 to $30. The letters often indicate that recipients are “guaranteed” to receive the prize money if they pay the fee, and they create a sense of urgency by stating that it is a limited-time offer.

 

In “dense, confusing language,” often on the back of the letters, there are statements in direct conflict with the bold claims of major winnings. A very careful reader might learn that they in fact have not won, and that the defendants do not sponsor sweepstakes but instead claim only to provide consumers with a list of available sweepstakes. Consumers frequently fail to see or understand this language and send money to the defendants. The FTC alleges that this language does not appear designed to correct deceptive statements, but exists mainly as an attempt to provide a defense to law enforcement action. Consumers get nothing of value in exchange for their payment.

 

The defendants have sent more than 3.7 million letters during the past two years, including nearly 800,000 letters to people in 156 countries in the first half of 2013. They have collected more than $11 million from consumers since 2009. The vast majority of the victims of this scam appear to be aged over 65.  The court order temporarily stops the illegal conduct, freezes the operation’s assets, and appoints a receiver over the corporate defendants while the FTC moves forward with the case.

 

Moran’s co-defendants are Applied Marketing Sciences LLC; Standard Registration Corporation, also doing business as Consolidated Research Authority and CRA; and Worldwide Information Systems Incorporated, also doing business as Specific Monitoring Service, SMS, Specific Reporting Service, SRS, Universal Information Services, UIS, Compendium Sampler Services, and CSS.

To learn how to avoid these kinds of scams, read more about the FTC's Prize Offers.

 

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 2,000 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s website provides free information on a variety of consumer topics. Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.