According to an Orlando Sentinel feature today, MetroWest developer Kevin Azzouz has announced that he has hired off-duty Orlando police officers to patrol the community 24 hours a day.

Regular police patrols will continue but about $250,000 will be spent on up to six additional officers who will patrol in marked cars.

“We have identified five entry points into MetroWest,” Azzouz told the Sentinel. “This will allow officers to watch all those points and have an additional officer as a rover.”

Azzouz is the owner of Veranda Partners LLC, which acquired a controlling interest in MetroWest about five years ago. He said he thinks crime is a key issue and needs attention. Azzouz formed a 16-person advisory committee last year to offer suggestions to the MetroWest Master Association, the governing body of the community’s various homeowners associations.

The Masters Association voted Monday to hire the officers, after Azzouz developed a program to analyze 15 months’ worth of 911 calls to find hot spots and crime patterns. Officers have already been deployed as the association negotiates a long-term contract with the Orlando Police Department, Azzouz said.

And the crowd goes wild… Thanks Kevin!