Q u a r t e r l y R e p o r t o f t h e

Dec ember 2011 - 4th

VISION

Our vision is a safer Highlands County where citizens and law enforcement are joined together; the rights of all persons are respected; and community values are reflected.

MISSION

The Highlands County Sheriff’s Office is committed to protecting life, property, and individual rights while maintaining peace and order. Goal 1:

Create safer neighborhoods by reducing criminal activity and conditions that foster crime and fear within the community.

Goal 2:

E n h a n c e ve h i c u l a r an d pedestrian safety of Highlands County roadways through education and enforcement.

Goal 3:

Assure accountability by effective and efficient use of personnel, equipment, and technology.

Goal 4:

Provide a professional work environment that attracts and retains a diverse group of quality applicants, rewards employee excellence, and promotes leadership through education and training.

Goal 5:

Assure effective Judicial and Detention processes and services.

S H E R I F F ’ S O F F I C E HIGHLANDS COUNTY

INTEGRITY QUALITY SERVICE PROFESSIONALISM

Sheriff Susan Benton

CITIZEN’S ACADEMY— Inaugural Class The first Inaugural Class of the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office Citizen’s Academy completed their training after nine weekly sessions and a full Saturday at the firing range. The Citizen Academy is a program designed to give participants a working knowledge of the Sheriff’s Office. It consists of a series of classes and discussions held once a week, on a designated evening for a period of three hours. The class provides an in-depth view into various areas of law enforcement and detention operations as well as the entire administration of the Office of Sheriff . It is an educational and informative program that allows citizens the opportunity to learn about the issues that effect law enforcement and detention efforts in Highlands County. It is an interactive program which helps inform the community about the Office of Sheriff, its divisions, policies, procedures, regulations and budget planning, and its interaction with others in the criminal justice

system. The Academy addresses the need for constant communication between the citizens of Highlands County and the Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s Citizen’s Academy gives the participants an opportunity to not only observe how the office operates on a daily basis, but also interact and experience “hands on” the functions and duties of the Office. Attendees ride with Deputies, tour the jail, and experience firearms training. Pictured below with Sheriff Benton is our inaugural class. Participant evaluations provided insight such as “I was unaware of the medical unit and how medications are regulated and distributed in the jail” said one after the Medical Unit session. Additionally, one class member stated “IT is usually very boring but the systems in place at the SO are amazing” and when our Crime Scene Technician talked about the science, one class member said “it really is like TV”. Thank you Catie Gunter and Mike Durham.

Pictured from the left: Michael McLeod, John Payne, David Greenslade, Richard Norris, Eileen May, Sheriff Susan Benton, Christine Hatfield, Candido Garcia, Ramona Washington, Rick Ingler, and June Fisher.

H i g hl a nd s C o u nty

Neighborhood Watch Groups News Elliott Road Neighborhood Watch Completes Initiation Process

Dave Kuhns representing the Elliott Road residents and Terry Barnes representing Oak Shores have

teamed up to lead the Elliott Road Neighborhood Watch. Completing the three meeting process

in late October, this group is Highlands County’s newest Neighborhood Watch group! Crime

Prevention Specialist Nell Hays presented a training session on How To Report Suspicious

Persons and Activities at their October 27th meeting. At the conclusion of the meeting the

group was presented with two Neighborhood Watch Community road signs and have since

received window stickers for use within the covered area. Many thanks to Dave and Terry for

spearheading this effort and kudos to the residents who are participating in this crime prevention endeavor!

C RI ME P RE V E NT I ON

In the past 6 months several areas in Highlands County have been victimized by daytime burglary

activities. Highlands County Sheriff’s Office Detectives are following leads in an attempt to apprehend the

individuals responsible for these residential burglaries. At this time the areas include Avon Park Lakes, Sun N

Lakes North and South, Highlands Park Estates, Placid Lakes and Lorida. There are active Neighborhood

Watch groups in most of these areas, however, few leads have been developed from residents. As noted above,

these burglaries are occurring in daytime hours when homeowners are typically at work. Entry is often through

sliding glass doors or made by removing window air conditioning units. Flat screen TV’s, jewelry, firearms and

cash have been reported stolen along with other small electronics.

In addition to the residential burglaries, a number of car phishing incidents have been reported to

Highlands County Sheriff’s Office Road Patrol Units. In these cases wallets and purses, cash, GPS units and

I-pods have been the items most often reported stolen. In some cases there are no signs of forced entry to the

vehicles indicating they were left unlocked. Please do not leave wallets, purses, cash and other such items in

your vehicle especially overnight and please take a moment to lock your car! Let’s take away the opportunity

for crime!

Detectives have identified burglars' in more than 20 cases and are processing the criminal charges but

encourage residents to continue reporting suspicious activity, such as, a suspicious vehicle making several trips

through your neighborhood, someone on foot glancing into parked vehicles or any other activities that you

know are not common in your area. Call 863-402-7200 anytime, our Consolidated Dispatchers will help you.

Recent Criminal Activity

S h erif f ’s O ff i c e

Residents of Elliott Road and Oak Shores Mobile Home Park meet for Neighborhood Watch training.

Scams and Frauds Economic times have been difficult for awhile now and unfortunately the

scams and frauds continue as well. With the large percentage of senior citizens in

Highlands County we are perceived to be vulnerable when it comes to scams as

well. In general we are seeing the same types of frauds and scams now that have

been around for many years. During this time of year contractor frauds are usu-

ally prevalent. This type of ruse occurs when someone will drop by your home

with offers to do repairs that you have not requested. Sometimes they claim to

have unused material from a previous job. Other times it’s a “concerned repair-

man” who has noticed a problem to your roof or your carpet or your water…..the

list goes on! The bottom line is don’t fall for any of these scams. Please don’t al-

low these people access into your home! If there are repairs that you need, deal-

ing with a local business will be much more reliable in the long run. In case a

problem does occur at least you will be able to follow up and have your problem

addressed.

Another scam that rises it’s ugly head at this time of year is the Grandparent’s Scam. The victim

receives a call from someone pretending to be the victim’s grandchild. The scammer paints a picture of dire

need either criminal or health related and says they need cash immediately. Amounts in the range of $500—

$5000 are typical in this type of scam. If you receive a call like this, please take a moment and call the parent

of the grandchild in question. It is likely that your grandchild is just fine and you will have peace of mind

instead of being relieved of your cash!

Finally, please make note of your credit card statements. Following holiday spending I’m sure you

would be delighted NOT to receive your bills however if you made charges, a statement should be in the

mail! Sometimes thieves go on line and make out fraudulent address change forms for their intended victims.

In these cases all your mail is diverted to whatever address they have indicated on the form. Within a short

period of time your good credit will be used to open more credit card accounts and make unauthorized

purchases. If you should notice an absence of mail delivery, please contact your postmaster immediately. In

the case of someone changing your mail delivery address also contact law enforcement to make a report of

Identity Theft. The key to limiting your losses in this situation is your immediate response.

You can call Consolidated Dispatch at 863-402-7200 and report any suspicious activity in any

area of Highlands County. Your call will be dispatched to your local law enforcement agency.

Schedule Programs Now for 2012 Princess Lilyann wants to be sure you have scheduled your

Annual Neighborhood Watch meeting with Miss Nell!

Princess Lilyann is owned by Dianne and Dave Kuhns of the

Elliott Road Neighborhood Watch and recently attended the final

organizational meeting there. Dressed in her Breast Cancer Awareness

pink, she wants to remind everyone that one of the requirements to retain

Active Neighborhood Watch status is to have at least one meeting per

year with a Highlands County Sheriff’s Office representative as the

program speaker.

Crime Prevention Specialist Nell Hays has taken on the

additional role of Public Information Officer for the Highlands County

Sheriff’s Office thus her schedule will be filling up quickly for the 2012

winter season. If you would like to get your annual meeting on Nell’s

schedule, please call her at 402-7369 and get your meeting booked as

soon as possible! Thank you in advance for your cooperation and we

look forward to your continued certification as a Neighborhood Watch

Program! Princess Lilyann

On October 29, 2011 authorities collected 505.5 pounds of prescription medications as part of the latest edition of Operation Medicine Cabinet. This is a joint effort by local law enforcement, Drug Free Highlands and the U.S. Department. of Justice’s D r u g E n f o r c e m e n t Administration to provide s a f e d i s p o s a l w h i l e preventing abuse of such medications. Drop off sites were as follows:

Avon Park Police

129.5 lbs

Sebring Police

144 lbs

Lake Placid Police

132 lbs

Sheriff’s Office

100 lbs

“The cooperation among all of the law enforcement agencies with Drug Free Highlands is what makes this program a success for our citizens.”

....Sheriff Susan Benton

P ag e 2

Florida Leadership Academy

“RIDING FOR THE RANCHES”

OPERATION MEDICINE CABINET

On November 5, 2011 the Hardee/DeSoto/Highlands Counties Chapter of the Enforcers (Law Enforcement) Motorcycle Club hosted a “Ride for the Ranches” to raise money for the Florida Sheriff’s Youth Ranch. Their goal was to raise $5000 for the Ranch. Any motorcycle enthusiast was welcome to join the ride. Afterwards members interacted with Youth Ranch residents for a day of basketball, motorcycles and interaction. Final calculations for the ride indicated they raised approximately $3600 towards their $5000 goal with this ride. Their efforts will continue in 2012. Highlands County Sheriff’s Deputy Sheriff Robert Farabee is the President of the Hardee/DeSoto/Highlands Counties Chapter of the Enforcers Motorcycle Club. Other HCSO club members include Captain Jeff Barfield, Deputy Sheriff Jay Kircher (Sergeant at Arms) and Deputy Sheriff David Edwards. Anyone interested in joining the next ride or to make a donation contact Deputy Robert Farabee, or check out their Facebook Page, “Riding for the Ranches.”

Congratulations to Robert and all who participated in raising money for this very worthy cause!

Local Chapter of Enforcers Motorcycle Club Supports Florida Sheriff’s Youth Ranch

Medicine collected and processed by the Sheriff’s Office Property and Evidence Unit

The Florida Leadership Academy (FLA) Program is a vital part of the Florida Criminal Justice Executive Institute. This program was created to meet the need for formal training of the first line supervisors. The FLA prepares first-line supervisors in criminal justice organizations to exemplify the character and integrity expected of criminal justice professionals, and examines the various components necessary to be an effective leader. Participants in the FLA will learn skills necessary to support the needs of their agency and needs within the community. The program also exposes participants to common ethical dilemmas in criminal justice and provides tools for exercising good judgment as a supervisor. Each unit of curriculum provides further insight towards proactive problem solving, effective communication, and related leadership skills. The FLA meets one week a month for a total of four sessions. SESSION ONE: Leadership and Management; participants learn the importance of individual contributions to the group and their role in shaping the future of their organization. The session covers the principles of situational leadership and aspects of team building. Various types of power and motivational strategies are covered during this session. SESSION TWO: Communication, Professionalism and Ethics; provides participants the opportunity to learn written and oral communication skills necessary to support the needs of their agency, learning strategies on how to effectively communicate with the media and practice a professional response. In addition, the session exposes its participants to ethical dilemmas common in criminal justice and provides tools in exercising good judgment as a supervisor. SESSION THREE: Legal Issues, Decision Making and Change

Management; prepares participants to effectively address the legal and liability issues faced by supervisors in the criminal justice system. Participants also are given guidance in the areas of decision making, managing change, working with generational issues, and holding themselves and their subordinates accountable for upholding the standards of the agency. SESSION FOUR: Organizational Skills, Performance Management and Stress; provides essential skills for supervisors to remain proactive in their supervisory duties. The participants also prepare to meet the challenges of developing, coaching, mentoring, evaluating and disciplining subordinates in such a way as to positively improve performance on the job. Participants will also learn skills necessary to support the technical and administrative needs of their agency. Since these duties are both stressful and demanding of a supervisor, this session goes over some practical ways to reduce stress and control emotion in critical moments frequently encountered by the criminal justice supervisor. The Highlands County Sheriff’s Office is committed to maintaining succession planning as well as preparing our members to lead the Office of Sheriff and work to continue providing for peaceful neighborhoods and successful families. Twenty-one of our Sergeants have attended the Academy thus far and we have eight Sergeants yet to complete the course. According to Sheriff Benton, “this is one of the most important training commitments within our Office, every member always knows who their immediate supervisor is and what the expectation of that supervisor is; thus consistent accountability across the Office is critical”. Thank you to our Sergeants for your professionalism.

October 1, 2011 - December 31, 2011

1

1

1

80

77

2,350

571

511

437

1,005

7,167

1,143

113

37,309

2,283

2,187

96

S H ER IFF’ S O FF ICE

New Member Hires:

Civilians

Part-time Civilian

Sworn

Applications Received

Applications Processed

Payroll Transactions Processed

Payable Checks Processed

P-Card Purchases

Citizens Fingerprinted

Information Services Requests

P ag e 3

Items into Evidence

Evidence Items Disposed Crime Scene Lab Cases Criminal Investigation Unit Cases

Investigations Open (Total)

Special Investigations Unit Cases

Safe Neighbor Units Arrests

SIU Narcotic Arrests

SVU Cases Received from DCF

SVU Cases Open Business Security Surveys/residential

Neighborhood Watch Presentations

Crime Victims Served

Victim Advocate Services

Court Related Services:

Cases In Court

Inmates Taken to Court

Arrests by Bailiffs

Persons thru Security Station

Judicial/Civil Process Services:

Received/Processed Served Active

2,426

1,475

143

219

185

95

82

27

370

41

0/2

38

128

553

QUARTERLY INFORMATION—ADMINISTRATION & COURT

QUARTERLY INFORMATION—LAW ENFORCEMENT

Administrative Calls

911 Calls

Computer Aided Dispatch

HCSO (50%)

SPD (15%)

LPPD (4%) APPD (17%)

FIRE (5%)

EMS (9%)

Offense Reports

Traffic Citations Issued

K-9 Searches

Warrant Numbers:

Received/Processed

Served

Active

Number of Arrests By Patrol

Number of DUI’s

Inmates Booked into Jail

Inmates Released from Jail

Instructional Program Hours

Inmate Transport Miles

Transports to State Prison

ICE Picked Up

Detainer's Placed

CMP Participants

Dollars Saved in Labor

Dollars Collected in Fees

Inmate Meals Served

Avg Food Cost per Day Per Inmate

Alcohol Breath Tests

Average Daily Population

Staff Meals Purchased

Net Commissary Earnings

Medical Fees Charged

Medical Fees Collected

Subsistence Fees Charged

Subsistence Fees Collected

Inmate Per-Diem Charged

Inmate Per-Diem Collected

Labor Hours by Inmates S/O

Labor Hours by Inmates -Other

Dollars Saved in Labor

407

1,672

5,357

170,811

7,878

49,018

13,918

19,482

7,353

17,024

402

27,661

47,883

11,497

36,592

18,562

4,934

1,752

5,997

1,724

3,623

853

2,345

249

588

551

3,700

613

13

1,216

1,149

1,963

30,295

48

18

25

37

27,661

2,365

116,478

1.72

21

QUARTERLY INFORMATION—DETENTION

Teen Driver Facts

At the age of 16, most young adults take advantage of the privilege of obtaining a drivers license, with little or no formal training. This means they are not prepared for the road, with changing terrains and hazards caused by bad weather. Teen Traffic Safety statistics show: Automobile crashes are the

leading cause of death and injury to teens in America.

Teenage vehicle collision dea ths have reached epidemic proportions in the state of Florida. Our state reports the highest rate of crash involvement (ages 15 to 19 years), highest rate in fatal crashes and the second h i g h e s t r a t e o f alcohol-related crashes.

Between 25 to 30% of teen drivers will be involved in a crash within the first 12 months of getting their operators license.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that based on miles driven, teenagers are involved in three times as many fatal crashes as all other drivers.

Specific behaviors are associated with the causes of this high fatality rate. Inexperience c o m b i n e d w i t h s p e e d , alcohol-related driving, not wearing safety belts, distracted driving (cell phone use, texting, loud music, other teen passengers, etc.), drowsy driving, nighttime driving, and drug use contribute to this high percentage of preventable deaths.

…...Article from Teen Driver Challenge @ www.flsheriffs.org

Next Teen Driver Challenge:

April 12 & 14, 2012

Call: Deputy Noto—402-7350

For tips on how to keep our kids safe see the Florida Sheriffs Association Child Safety Page @ www.flsheriffs.org/child-safety

HIGHLANDS COUNTY

SHERIFF’S OFFICE

Susan Benton, Sheriff

434 FERNLEAF AVENUE SEBRING, FL 33870

OFFICE: (863) 402-7200

On behalf of the detectives working the case, the animal control officers who are caring for the dogs we would like to thank Selene and Azusena and all of the many other contributors for helping us fund the placement of these animals for their safety and rehabilitation.…….Thanks again, Sheriff Susan Benton

ANIMAL RESCUE

D/S Michael Parker & K-9 Maverick

Azusena Gomez, Selene Gomez, Karon Kaminski

D/S William Gentry & K-9 Roni

As detectives continue working with prosecutors to build the case against those who were conducting the illegal dog fighting for profit as alleged, our citizens have rallied. In order to make the placements, funds were needed for the transfer and medical care of the dogs. The community has donated $4,917.95 as of January 24, 2012 to help save the dogs that were used and abused for the purpose of profit during these fighting exhibitions. Of particular interest regarding the donations, two little girls who had been saving their pennies since October, 2010 came into the Sheriff’s Office with their grandmother and donated all of their pennies. Selene Gomes, 11 years old told her sister, Azusena Gomez, 8 years old, that she wanted to help the dogs. All of their pennies amount to six dollars.

The dogs are all checked out and beginning to be placed with the rescue organizations due to the generosity of so many folks who donated. Thirteen dogs have been placed so far and we look forward to seeing all of the dogs placed in the near future.