Sheriff Susan Benton and Superintendent Wally Cox representing the Florida Sheriff’s Association and the Florida Association of School Superintendents, join the American Foot-ball Coaches Association and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to initiate a Child I.D. program in our local schools. The Pro-gram’s inkless fingerprint kit provides parents and

guardians with a clean, convenient way to re-cord their child’s finger-prints, physical charac-teristics and their DNA on a card they can keep at home. Nationally, more than 800 thousand children per year are missing. That is one child every 40 seconds. When this program started in 1977, less than 2 percent of parents had a copy of their child’s fingerprints to provide to law enforcement. To date, more than 10 mil-lion kits have been dis-tributed through schools which in turn greatly increases the number of children protected and recovered in each com-

munity. Look for these kits in the first week of May, 2007; they will be sent home with children attending grades K through 8, and in all Day Care Centers. Kits will be available for pick up at the High Schools. The process takes less than 5 minutes for each child; giving authorities the vi-tal information they need to assist them in their ef-forts to locate or identify a missing child.

Volume 3 Issue 1

CHILD ID PROGRAM April 2007 - 2nd Qtr VISION

Our vision is a safer High-lands County where citizens and law enforcement are joined together; the rights of all persons are respected; and community values are re-flected.

MISSION

The Highlands County Sher-iff’s Office is committed to protecting life, property, and individual rights while main-taining peace and order.

GOALS

Goal 1: Create safer neighborhoods by reducing criminal activity and conditions that foster crime and fear within the community.

Goal 2: Enhance the safety of Highlands County roadways through en-forcement and education.

Goal 3: Assure accountability by effec-tive and efficient use of person-nel, equipment, and technology.

Goal 4: Provide a professional work environment that attracts and retains a diverse group of qual-ity applicants, rewards em-ployee excellence, and promotes leadership through education and training.

Goal 5: Assure effective Court and De-tention security and services.

Quarter ly Report of the

SHERIFF’S OFFICE HIGHLANDS COUNTY

INTEGRITY QUALITY SERVICE PROFESSIONALISM

Highlands County Sher-iff’s Office has entered into agreements with the Department of Corrections and Florida Department of Law Enforcement to join two systems geared at making our communities safer. The VINE system is an automated victim notification service to citi-zens when a defendant is release from jail, this helps protect crime vic-

tims from further vic-timization and ensures that victims’ legal rights are being honored. The Justice Xchange system will allow us and other agencies to track down offenders. The database allows local agencies to set up a watch list for high risk offenders and absconders. The system cross references data bases from thousands of

jails to check bookings, incident reports, and other data. If an individual is booked by another agency, an e-mail is sent to notify the user of the arrest. In a recent search 370 absconders were lo-cated in Florida jails. When sent back to the Florida Department of Corrections, it reduces the burden on local taxpay-ers.

VINE SYSTEM & JUSTICE XCHANGE

Wally Cox, School Board Superin-tendent, Sheriff Susan Benton, and Jim Bible, Deputy Superintendent.

HCSO TOP HONORS

Highlands County Sher-iff’s Office is proud of our newest members who re-ceived top honors during their graduation ceremony at Polk Community Col-lege. Congratulations go to Deputy Wayne Orpurt who received Top Academic honors and Deputy Ken Young who received recog-nition as the “Top Gun” in the class but deferred the award to a recruit new to law enforcement so that he could be recognized. He also received Top Defen-sive Tactics honors.

Detention Deputy graduates honored at the SFCC Cor-rections Academy were Deputy Elizabeth D. San-chez named the Executive Officer of the Class, and Deputy Anthony L. Sara-ceni who received the dis-tinct honor of “Top Gun” in the same class.

Shepherd (Spike) but with recent funding through the Byrne Me-morial Justice Assistance Grant, two more patrol dogs, (Zeus and Boss), have joined the ranks at the Sheriff’s Office. To complete our objectives one more patrol dog will be added next year.

The Sheriff’s Office just moved one step closer to completing one of our strategic plan objectives to have one K-9 unit and one Bloodhound assigned to every patrol squad to as-sure 24/7 coverage. The K-9’s are multi purpose dogs and are used for a variety of incidents such as locating missing per-sons, detecting illicit drugs

or explosives, and to back up patrol deputies on calls where the dogs may be sent in first to deter or prevent violent confronta-tion with deputies. The Highlands County Sher-iff’s Office K-9 unit con-sists of four bloodhounds, Blue, Sarge, Naiche (not pictured), and Wyatt. The Sheriff’s Office started with one German

Page 2

D O G D AY S AT T H E S H E R I F F ’ S O F F I C E

Volume 3 Issue 1

New technology has been made available to the Sheriff’s Office through a Department of Home-land Security grant. An Automatic License Plate Recognition system was purchased, and during a test run, the system was placed at the main en-trance of the Sebring In-ternational Raceway dur-ing this years race event. The system consists of specialized cameras con-nected to a processor which automatically reads the text on vehicle

license plates as a vehicle passes through the cam-eras’ field of view. The plate number is then in-stantly compared to data-bases containing crimi-nal/intelligence informa-tion. If a match is found, both audible and visual alerts are made to the system user and that in-formation is immediately transferred to the local agency for action. Each license plate that is read is also saved into a data-base for future use if necessary. At the race-

way over 20,000 tags were examined with the system. The Sheriff’s Office will soon be util-izing this system in select patrol cars.

V E H I C L E TA G I D E N T I F I C AT I O N S Y S T E M

MILESTONE: JASA GRADUATION On March 5, 2007, the first “class” graduated from the JASA Program (Jail Alternative for Substance Abuse). Six proud inmates received diplomas and gave short thankful and emotional testimonies in support of the JASA Program. “We are extremely proud and hopeful that each of these individuals will put into action that which they have learned from this program,” Sheriff Susan Benton said during the ceremony.

Zeus and Deputy Thomas Fort (left) and Boss and Deputy Richard Scott Williams

SHERIFF’S OFFICE Page 3

Public Safety Highlight

Click It or Ticket May 21—June 3, 2007

This high-profile nationwide law enforcement effort is geared to remind drivers and passengers in motor vehicles that it is the LAW to buckle up for safety. During the Click It or Ticket campaign, law e n f o r c e m e n t a g e n c i e s nationwide mobilize to focus on seat belt and child restraint education, and enforcement efforts in an attempt to save lives on our roadways. This two-pronged approach has been very successful throughout the nation and has been touted by law enforcement as one of the most effective and powerful campaigns to reduce vehicular fatalities. What Is Highlands County Doing in The Click It or Ticket Campaign? It is a year round effort of the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office to assure the compliance with the seatbelt law, however, special attention on enforcement takes place during the annual Click it or Ticket campaign. We join other law enforcement agencies nationwide in making it a major focus to both enforce and educate our citizens on this issue. During this year’s campaign the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Division will be running extra traffic enforcement details to reduce potential traffic related crashes and deaths by targeting speeders, aggressive drivers, and seat belt and child restraint violators. All this in an effort to enhance the safety of our roadways and protect lives. Don’t forget, “Click it” to avoid the “Ticket.” Strategic Plan goal # 2.

January 1, 2007—March 31, 2007

Q U A R T E R LY I N F O R M AT I O N — L AW E N F O R C E M E N T

Q U A R T E R LY I N F O R M AT I O N — D E T E N T I O N

Court Related Services: Cases In Court 7,324 Inmates Taken to Court 1,026 Arrests by Bailiffs 180 Persons thru Security Station 32,373

Pre-Trial Release Services: First Appearance Attendance 706 Pre-Trial Release 81 Inmates Referred for Treatment 43 Cost Effectiveness Savings $ 64,766

Inmates Booked into Jail 1,974 Inmates Released from Jail 1,744 Instructional Program Hours 1,509 Inmate Transport Miles 34,530 Transports to State Prison 62 Transports to INS 3 Community Maint. Participants 165 (monthly average participants) Dollars Saved in Labor $99,408 Dollars Collected in Fees $9,315 Inmate Meals Served 113,765 Average Cost per Day $2.21 Inmate Farm Produce (lbs) 1,776

Inmate Farm Eggs Harvested (DZ) 5,835 Alcohol Breath Tests 66 Average Daily Population 433 Net Commissary Earnings $6,672 Medical Fees Charged $242,374 Medical Fees Collected $15,982 Subsistence Fees Charged $64,398 Subsistence Fees Collected $23,768 Inmate Per-Diem Charged $16,006

Inmate Per-Diem Collected $11,330 Labor Hours by Trusties S/O 2,884 Labor Hours by Trusties 3,673 Total Dollars Saved in Labor $43,735

Q U A R T E R LY I N F O R M AT I O N — A D M I N I S T R AT I O N & C O U R T S E R V I C E S

Investigations Assigned 417 Investigations Open 118 Investigations Closed/Inactive 299 Special Operations Investigations 84

DCF Cases 325

Narcotic Arrests by Task Force 41

Business Security Surveys 1

Neighborhood Watch Presentations 71

Crime Victims Served 147

Victim Advocate Services 433

Computer Aided Dispatch 23,965 ( number assigned) Traffic Citations Issued 1,443

K-9 Searches 35

Judicial/Civil Process Services:

Received 2,512 Served 2,394 Active 118

Calls—Communications 50,869

Crime Scene Lab Cases 72

New Member Hires: Civilians 23 Sworn 5 Applications Received this Qtr. 63 Applications Processed 41 Payroll Checks Processed 2,226 Payable Checks Processed 855 P-Card Purchases 747 Citizens Fingerprinted 482 Information Services Requests 565

For years, parents have heard the saying: "It's 10 o'clock. Do you know where your children are?" The flip side of that question comes when young people, or loved ones, are involved in accidents and other emergency situations. Law enforcement and emergency personnel rely on a driver's license address to make contact with family. If no one is home or the victim does not live with the next of kin, officers must embark on a hunt for a family member. Often much time can pass before they reach anyone, leaving family members un-aware their loved ones have been seriously or fatally injured.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) has announced the im-plementation of a new emergency contact informa-tion system. This system allows Floridians to voluntarily provide emergency contact informa-tion online, giving law enforcement immediate access to this information and making it easier for them to make notification in cases of emergency. Those with a Florida driver's license or identification card can go online to https://www6.hsmv.state.fl.us/dlcheck/findcustomer and enter this information for two emergency contacts. The contact information you enter will be immediately available to law enforcement officials. Any child over 5 years old can be issued a Florida Identification card which allows them to be placed into the D.A.V.I.D. system which can provide vital information for law enforcement and emergency personnel.

HIGHLANDS COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

Susan Benton, Sheriff 434 FERNLEAF AVENUE SEBRING, FL 33870 OFFICE: (863) 402-7200

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ADDITIONAL ONLINE SERVICES BY THE FLORIDA DEPT. OF HIGHWAY SAFETY & MOTOR VEHICLES, GO TO: www.hsmv.state.fl.us

For information on the Surgeon General’s Call to Action on Underage Drinking visit: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/underagedrinking

D R I V E R S L I C E N S E E M E R G E N C Y C O N TA C T

This quarter has been extremely active for the Crime Prevention Unit in the area of Neighborhood Watch. Two new Neighborhood Watch groups have been formed, and at least three more are in some stage of the process. Frances 2, a manufactured home com-munity located off DeSoto Road in Se-bring, has Winona Garrett heading up the operations with Norma Pearson and Barbara Guthrie assisting. They have established a five unit plan to commu-nicate information throughout the com-plex. On March 19th they became an “official” Neighborhood Watch com-munity and were presented with new

signs for posting. On March 24th the Dover Road Neighborhood Watch group a t t a i n e d

Watch roster. It is not necessary to wait until the seasonal residents re-turn in order to plan for a Neighbor-hood Watch. Sometimes it makes sense to organize the group with the year-round residents, then expand the scope of the watch as the seasonal residents return. If you are interested in bringing Neighborhood Watch to your community please call the Crime Prevention Unit located at the Lakeshore Mall Office, 385-0024.

WHAT’S NEW IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS

H ighlands County Sheriff ’s O f f ice

CRIME PREVENTION April 2007 Insert for Volume 3 , Issue 1

Visit the National Organization for Youth Safety site @ http://www.noys.org/

Have you ever had a deputy come by your home doing a neighborhood can-vass? This is done when a crime has occurred in your area, and the officers need to find out if you may have heard or seen anything unusual. Have you ever seen something unusual in your neighborhood and thought ”Gee, that seems strange….?” The Highlands County Sheriff’s Office would like to strongly encourage residents to call our non-emergency telephone number when anything out of the ordinary is observed. How do you know if some-thing is suspicious? Here are some examples of when you should call the Sheriff’s Office:

There is a large truck in your neighbor’s driveway and people are taking furniture out of the

house. But you know your neighbor just left to return to his home up north. While it is possible that he arranged to have all his furniture replaced while he was gone, this is probably not the case.

The same vehicle has made four trips around your block. Per-haps he is lost, but he may also

be choosing a theft or burglary tar-get. Give us a call and let the Sher-iff’s Office determine what is going on.

You get up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water and see someone standing in your

neighbor’s carport that you do not recognize. When we canvass a neighborhood following a crime, we very often find neighbors who have actually seen suspicious persons or vehicles

and yet did not call the Sheriff’s Office. Please understand that we would much rather investigate a suspicious circumstance and find that everything was OK than to respond later to a crime scene that might have been avoided. We are here to respond to your needs, but we rely on the public to be our eyes and ears. The non-emergency numbers for the High-lands County Sheriff’s Office are:

Avon Park 784-0225 Sebring 402-7200 Lake Placid 699-3737

If you see a crime in progress, or if you need immediate assistance, please call 911.

Make the call

“official” status and were presented with signs. Raymond and Michelle Mulero are heading up this group with assistance from Bob and Shirley Barker, Anthony Mulero, Havert and Ervean Tramel and Beth Gilbert. It takes a series of three meetings for a neighborhood to attain Neighbor-hood Watch status. The first meeting is usually an overview of the con-cepts of Neighborhood Watch and sometimes includes just the Board of Directors or a couple of interested parties. The second and third meet-ings are with as many of the commu-nity members as possible and include explanations of the concepts and scope of Neighborhood Watch as well as some training on reporting suspicious events. Currently there are over 100 communities within High-lands County on the Neighborhood

D.A.R.E . in highlands county

The D.A.R.E. program is an essential part of Highlands County’s fight against youth drug involvement. The elementary school program incorpo-rates prevention strategies such as how to deal with peer-pressure. D.A.R.E. students see tangible proof of how drug usage diminishes mental activity, emotions, coordination and movement. Rigorous scientific evaluation has documented that kids who complete the D.A.R.E. program

have improved decision-making skills, view drug use as unacceptable, and possess significantly decreased likelihood of ever using drugs. We are fortunate here in Highlands County to have concerned and in-volved parents, school officials, and law enforcement, including five D.A.R.E. officers, supporting our children. That support was evident on April 10, 2007, when the School Resource/D.A.R.E. Officers of the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office, Sebring Police Department, Avon Park Police Department, and the Florida Department of Law Enforce-ment hosted a D.A.R.E. celebration at South Florida Community Col-lege. In attendance were more than 1000 fifth grade students from our local elementary schools. The pro-gram featured the California Toe Jam

In light of the recent burglaries that have occurred in some of Highlands County’s manufactured home communities,

the Crime Prevention Unit would like to offer some helpful hints for all homeowners. First, please lock your doors, especially when you are not at home, and at night. While the number of residential burglaries in Highlands County is far below our neighboring urban communities, there is still enough crime to warrant being watchful. Locking your doors – all of them – is paramount to your safety. In addition, when possible it is a good idea to lock windows also. If you do not have locks on your windows, the local hard-ware store can provide options for you to purchase. There will be different locks for each type of window in your home. Double hung varieties (the ones that you push up and down) use channel locks. A good idea for securing awning windows is to simply remove the cranks. Jalousie windows are the most difficult to secure and really should be replaced, but if that is not an option, a spot of glue on each glass pane will help se-

cure the glass to its holder so that it cannot be easily removed. Sliding glass doors are a prime target for thieves because they usually have a bit of vertical “play”. If there is sufficient movement, the doors can be removed from their tracks and simply set aside for easy entry. To remedy this situation, try putting a couple of screws in the track. Put them all the way in, then back them out so that there is just enough room for the door to slide, but you will have eliminated the “play” that allows the door to be removed. A “Charlie bar” or dowel in the track is also helpful so that the door cannot be easily pried open. These are just some simple tips for making your home more difficult for burglars to access.

Don’t Invite Burglars

Sgt. Monica Sauls and Sebring High Role Model, Ricki Albritton

If you would like an assessment of your residence, please call the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office Crime Prevention Unit at 385-0024 to schedule a FREE Residential Security Survey. One of our Specialists will come to your home and evaluate the possible areas of concern. You will be provided with a written report, complete with suggestions for improving the security of your residence. Remember, this service is FREE!

Band, the Jr. Diamond Steppers of Avon park Middle School, the Sebring High School cheerlead-ers, the Highlands County Sher-iff’s Office Honor Guard and Bag Pipper, and the D.A.R.E. Role Models from all over the County. A Sebring High School D.A.R.E. Role Model, Ricki Vann Albritton has been selected to represent the State of Florida on the National D.A.R.E. Youth Advisory Board.