:: west palm beach police department ::

The '70's proved to be another era of change for the West Palm Beach Police Department. Gone are the major investigations into moonshine and gambling operations. Here to replace them are drug violations. Two out of three drug arrests were for marijuana abuse. Heroin and cocaine were available in the community, but in lesser quantities. Other crimes increased as addicts struggled to get cash for their next "fix."

Rock and bottle throwing incidents became commonplace in 1970. Riviera Beach saw a major civil disturbance that resulted in some businesses being burned. West Palm Beach had a labor dispute just outside the city limits at a car dealership construction site on Okeechobee Blvd.

Calls for service increased from 35,000 in 1970 to 55,000 in 1971. West Palm Beach was becoming a "Big City", with big city problems of traffic congestion. Traffic, once a headache during the "height of the season," had now become a part of everyday life. Over 3,550 accidents were investigated within the city limits. Traffic fatalities reached 13, more than double the previous years total.

Events at the West Palm Beach Auditorium required police services. On a few occasions, wrestling spectators got out of hand requiring police action to restore order. No serious injuries were received by police or civilians, but the wrestling matches were cancelled for a period of time. When the matches were resumed, the crowd seemed more self-controlled.

Racial tensions were lessened in 1971. Only one major confrontation occurred in the summer of 1971. The entire department was mobilized on four consecutive nights for disturbances in the 700 block of Rosemary Avenue. The problem was a group of drug dealers who had moved from another part of the county and settled on Rosemary Avenue.

According to the annual report of 1971, the drug dealers' stay was short lived. Walking beats were begun on Rosemary Avenue and Northwood Road to prevent the drug dealers return. These officers had personal contact with the citizens in the area which helped reduce tensions.

West Palm Beach Police in 1972 were very busy answering 60,000 calls for service that required 17,000 written reports. Of 7,019 arrests, 1,970 were for public drunkenness. Public intoxication was declared a sickness and not a crime in October, 1974. Other facilities were opened, such as C.A.R.P. (the Comprehensive Alcohol Rehabilitation Program), to handle the inebriates who could no longer be placed in jail.

Special Tactical Anti-Crime (TAC) Teams were initiated to address increases in purse snatches and residential burglaries. A detail was started to patrol the city water catchment area to prevent vandalism, drug abuse, indecent exposure, illegal dumping, and illegal hunting. The department developed a bomb squad, no doubt in response to the actions of some radical anti-war groups across the nation.

1973 saw the last session of the West Palm Beach Police Academy. The Criminal Justice Institute at Palm Beach Junior College assumed the duty to train police officers. The coordinator of the new academy was retired Inspector Joe Macy. The classroom in the station could now be used exclusively for in-service training.

In 1973, officers no longer were required to type every report. A new handwritten report system allowed reports to be completed on the street. Only reports for presentation to the State Attorney's Office for criminal prosecution had to be typed.

In January of 1974, the Police Benevolent Association was recognized by the West Palm Beach City Commission as the bargaining unit for West Palm Beach Police Officers. President of the Palm Beach County PBA was Ronald Sowers; Vice President was Theodore Griggs.

The 1974-75 budget request was $3,244,742.00, an increase of $500,000 from the previous year. City manager called the budget request conservative. The major reason for the increase was the cost of gasoline and oil products. !974 was the height of the gas crisis, with prices skyrocketing and supplies short. Gas siphoning was the major theft problem that year.

In November of 1974, West Palm Beach was the starting point of one of the most heinous mass murder suspects in American history. John Paul Knowles began his crime spree by abducting a tourist who managed to escape in Palm Beach. Knowles then abducted a woman from her home in West Palm Beach, leaving her in a motel room in Fort Pierce the following day. Knowles then abducted a Florida Highway Patrol Trooper and a salesman in Perry, Florida. He then fled into Georgia.

Knowles was the subject of a massive manhunt in Georgia, eventually surrendering to a hunter. Knowles refused to tell authorities where the Trooper and salesman were. Knowles' lawyer had access to tapes which may have provided the location of the abducted men, but he refused to tell law enforcement officials where the tapes were. Five days after the crime spree began, the hostages were found by hunters 20 miles south of Macon, Ga. They had been tied to a tree and shot.

In December of 1974, Knowles was shot and killed while trying to escape by Sheriff Earl Lee of Douglas County, Georgia. The shooting of Knowles was justified according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

In November 1974, Officers of the West Palm Beach Police Department were involved in a hostage situation at the Nag's Head Pub, 2381 Palm Beach Lakes. James C. Mitchell fled from Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) officials, entered the restaurant, grabbed a waitress, and held her hostage for four hours. A local psychiatrist told officers that Mitchell did not really want to kill the hostage, even though he said he would. The psychiatrist said "No harm was meant." Mitchell had been arrested by FDLE on warrants from North Carolina, where he was wanted for rape and kidnapping. Mitchell meant no harm in the North Carolina cases either, we guess.

The mid-seventies saw a marked increase in crime that produced instant cash; purse snatching, robberies burglaries and larcenies. The economy was in a recession that began with the gas crisis. The results of unemployment were prevalent in West Palm Beach.

The term "selective enforcement" became popular to describe the efforts of police to combat the crime problem. West Palm Beach Police were utilizing small tactical units drawn from the patrol division to handle specific crimes in specific locations. It became clear citizens would have to become more involved if crime was to be controlled.