Cape Coral Police Department

Law enforcement officers in Southwest Florida responding to a mental health crisis stress that their duties require more than just training and fast decisions. It also requires empathy, patience, and understanding that not every emergency is a crime.Authorities in Lee County, Cape Coral, and Fort Myers are adapting to the rise in mental health calls, which police chiefs say now account for a considerable portion of their workload.

From drones to body cameras, artificial intelligence is changing how police departments are investigating crimes and train officers. While law enforcement leaders call it efficient and lifesaving, questions remain about bias, transparency and how far the technology will go.That shift is already underway in Southwest Florida, where police departments are beginning to rely on artificial intelligence in daily operations.

A Cape Coral resident and registered sexual offender is facing charge after police allege he lured a number of local realtors to vacant homes under false pretenses.Cape Coral police say they arrested 58-year-old Tracey Ramirez for failing to comply with state-mandated registration requirements.

A 16-year-old from Cape Coral was arrested Tuesday after his father reported suspicious items found in his son’s bedroom after he had been reported as a runaway.The Cape Coral Police Department has arrested John David Ruiz in connection with a burglary involving stolen security equipment. The arrest occurred days after Ruiz was reported missing and while detectives were eating lunch at Publix and spotted Ruiz, whom they noticed had put his Crocs shoes into “sport mode” in futile preparation to flee.

Scam artists are always looking for new fraudulent ways to separate people from their money. Cape Coral Police Economic Crimes Unit Detective Christopher Simonds gives out a warning about a particularly new such new trend — courier scams

Several Cape Coral schools were placed on lockdown Wednesday morning for several hours.Cape Coral High School, Heritage Charter Academy, Skyline Elementary, Challenger Middle School and Patriot Elementary were placed on lockdown as a precaution after a possible threat at the high school on Santa Barbara Boulevard South.All lockdowns were lifted shortly before 10:30 a.m.

Cape Coral City Council recently approved a bid from the Cape Coral Police Department to participate in a Florida Department of Health program that prevents opioid-related deaths.The Helping Emergency Responders Obtain Support Program, or HEROS, provides free doses of naloxone, better known as Narcan, to participating emergency response agencies. Narcan is a nasal spray that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose, and has the ability to save lives.

The Florida Highway Patrol, the Florida Department of Transportation, and other Southwest Florida law enforcement agencies, talked about their involvement Monday in “Operation Southern Slow Down,” a week-long speed enforcement awareness campaign with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the southeastern states of Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

The large-scale credit card fraud scheme operated in Cape Coral between late-2015 and mid-2018 by father and son ringleaders.

Cape Coral Police Department said it has received several cases over the last week in reference to scams involving unwitting Uber/Lyft drivers.