BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Bradford Sheriff Gordon Smith began his recent annual review for the county
commission by announcing the sheriff’s office has completed a level one review on the path toward certification by the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation.
Smith recognized Emergency Management Director Lt. Brad Witt and his staff for guiding the agency through the process. This was a first for the county, he said.
“Thanks to combined efforts of our sheriff’s office Accreditation Committee, the Bradford County Sheriff’s Office expects to receive our level one award at the next Florida Sheriffs Association Conference this summer,” he said.
According to the Florida Sheriffs Association, “Accreditation encourages continual internal review to improve organization functions, promote best practices, and increase community confidence in law enforcement. Achieving accredited status demonstrates that an agency has met established standards of high quality through an extensive self-study and external review.”
“It’s a big step we’ve worked on it for over a year at the direction of director Brad Witt has led this team … making sure that our policies and procedures will meet the standards for this accreditation process,” Smith said.
Full accreditation will involve additional work on physical standards as well as a full evaluation that all policies and procedures are in place and in practice.
The annual report put together by Zach Jones offers a look at last year’s statistics, beginning with the $8.1 million budget, which included $6.56 million for personnel costs, $1.35 million for operating expenses and $200,000 for capital outlay. The sheriff’s office received nearly $785,000 in grant funding and raised nearly $539,000 by housing out-of-county inmates.
The report covers the office by division, noting more than 97,000 calls for service created by the communications division. This included creating nearly 36,000 computer-aided dispatch calls and entering tens of thousands of traffic stops and property checks.
Communications employees underwent additional professional training and certification renewals, and received in-service training on mental health awareness, communications etiquette and more. The center was audited with corrections made as required.
Calls for service to the patrol division were up by 8,000 compared to 2022, placing the total well above 42,000. Traffic stops were up to nearly 11,000, with 6,700 warnings given and 1,600 citations written. That was more than twice the citations written in 2022, although warnings and education still outnumber citations by a large margin. DUI arrests increased from 41 to 52, and vehicle crash reports rose from 377 to 581, a surprising number, according to Smith.
Patrol wrote nearly 1,800 offense or incident reports, including 115 theft reports, 107 burglary reports, 184 domestic battery reports and 91 fraud reports. Among those, theft was down, but burglary, domestic assault and fraud reports increased.
Criminal investigations totaled 404 cases in 2023. Drug investigations accounted for 139 cases, 78 were special victim investigations, 52 were property crimes and 32 involved financial crimes or fraud. The agency arrested 133 suspects and had an 86.6% clearance rate.
The emergency management division’s goals included increasing efficiency using technology, so they transitioned to an updated the special needs registry, implemented cloud-based damage assessment software and upgraded the emergency operations center software. Staff attended trainings and conferences, hosted a damage assessment drill for local and state partners and was involved in the planning an active assailant response exercise in coordination with the school district.
The jail housed an average of 177 inmates per day. The corrections division added a program coordinator position funded by the inmate welfare fund and other cost saving measures to assist inmates with supervised computer access to complete court classes, obtain a GED, take college level courses or access resources that will facilitate their reentry to the community. There are additional programs available for substance abuse or mental health, as well as program to assist probationers in satisfying requirements and avoiding violations that could get them sent back to jail.
Under a contract with a new vendor, inmate calls and video visits are up 37% at 18 cents and 20 cents per minute. The same company has provided tablets with free legal library and educational program access as well as low-cost entertainment and the ability for inmates to report if they feel threatened or violated.
The jail underwent two audits related to security standards, medical inspections and inmate safety, and it met or exceeded standards according to inspectors, with kudos for cleanliness and sanitation, attention to inmate needs, staff attitude and knowledge, and the implementation of technology.
For civil process, the office handled 438 records requests, 1,666 criminal background checks, 202 employment fingerprinting requests, and served nearly 2,800 court civil process papers. There were also 350 code enforcement investigations.
The report also highlights the work of the school protection unit, which includes school resource deputies as well as the volunteer school personnel who undergo training to serve as undercover guardians. It also details the Explorer youth program, the sheriff’s volunteer posse, special divisions such as marine, SWAT and the aerial drone team, and requirements or opportunities for ongoing professional training and development.
In 2023, the sex offender unit launched a new operation to keep offenders away from activities where children are present such as sporting events and festivals. The judicial division implemented a security system to lock down the courthouse if there is an active assailant. Upgraded software allows security to pinpoint the location of a panic alarm activation in the courthouse and monitor the area via video feed while deputies respond.
Four inmate work crews labored more than 12,000 hours while saving taxpayer dollars. Animal control implemented a citation program to enforce state law and promote responsible pet ownership. The division responded to more than 2,000 calls for service, took in more than 1,400 animals and worked 33 animal bite cases.
New app available now
New for 2024, Bradford County Sheriff’s Office has released an application on mobile platforms to push emergency information to the public.
In addition to receiving notifications, the application allows users to easily locate or contact the sheriff’s office, as well as submit tips via First Coast Crime Stoppers. You can learn more about the sheriff’s office various divisions and explore a career in law enforcement. You can perform a search of current inmates and, via an interactive map, see photos, descriptions and addresses of registered sex offenders and predators who live near you. You can find out about animal services and search for a pet to adopt. You can commend a deputy or other agency employee for a job well done. There is even an in-app weather function that is adaptable to your current location.
To download the free application, search for Bradford County Sheriff’s Office in your device’s app store.
