Manatee Sheriff seeks proactive patrol

Each day, when Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells buttons up his forest green uniform, he wears body armor beneath it. Although much of his time now is consumed by politics — meeting with county officials, talking at public events and other public-sector engagements — his focus remains the same, keeping Manatee County’s residents safe.

At the forefront of that effort is handling growth, especially in District 3, the largest and fastest-growing district in Manatee County. Its roughly 740 square miles spans east of Interstate 75 from University Parkway to the Manatee River, as well as all unincorporated territory north of the river, including in Parrish, Ellenton and Palmetto.

“We have grown so rapidly, it’s difficult for my deputies to be proactive,” Wells said.

Wells said the Sheriff’s Office is 50 positions short of what it should be, echoing statements of former Sheriff Brad Steube. It has about 1.8 deputies per 1,000 people. The FBI suggests 2.2 law enforcement officer per 1,000 population.

Last year, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office received approximately 360,000 calls for service, or about 1,000 calls per day handled by about 29 deputies for each of three shifts, across three districts.

“We’re not little Manatee County any more,” Wells said.

Wells said the county’s western district accounts for more than 40% of all calls for service. However, East County’s challenges are its size coupled with a fast-growing population. Development in Districts 1 and 2 is basically finished, except for redevelopment projects, but District 3 continues to expand, said Capt. Robert Mealy, who heads up District 3, which covers the greater Lakewood Ranch area. The geographical size of Mealy’s district remains the same, but the number of communities in it is changing drastically. Lakewood Ranch developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch reported 775 new home sales in 2016. That, combined with sales from 2012 to 2015, equals 2,994 new homes in Lakewood Ranch proper alone.

“Here, the eastern portion of the county is booming,” Mealy said. “If I could put a deputy in every community, I would. Our deputies love catching bad guys.”

“We’ve got to keep up with that growth,” Wells added.

That means having more deputies on the road to respond to calls and take steps to deter crime. Wells’ and Mealy’s vision is to have deputies proactively patrol in neighborhoods, stop to play basketball with youth and take other measures to become familiar with the community and make residents as comfortable as possible talking with law enforcement.

“We have a green-and-white car and a green-and-white uniform with all this shiny stuff on it because we want law enforcement to be visible,” Wells said.

Wells said the Sheriff’s Office is capitalizing on the digital age, tracking crimes through social media, including Facebook. Department captains in March became active on Twitter.

“If we have a situation and we have the area blocked off or we have a subject we’re looking for, (residents) know what’s going on,” Wells said.

The Sheriff’s Office also plans to put more emphasis on prevention, starting with youth. It uses a Manatee County Sheriff’s Office-developed education program, “Know the Law,” in middle schools to teach children about right and wrong. Wells is working with the School District of Manatee County to reintroduce the program into elementary schools, where there are no school resource officers, starting in August. Those plans have not yet been approved.

Ultimately, the sheriff wants to create a fourth district that would break up the District 3 territory into one district north of the Manatee River and another south of it to include the Lakewood Ranch area. Wells said those plans will not be implemented immediately because of more pressing budgetary needs, but he hopes it can become a reality as quickly as possible.

Starting in 2018, the Sheriff’s Office will receive revenue from a half-cent sale tax approved by voters in November 2016. But Wells said the tax is not the funding-gap solution it appears to be on the surface. The Sheriff’s Office has other “critical” funding needs besides deputies, including an expansion of its property and evidence and fleet facilities.

Last year, the Manatee County Commission budgeted for eight new deputies and four correctional officers. During the summer budget sessions, Wells will again ask for more personnel.

“The Board of County Commissioners has been working with us,” Wells said. “We’re trying to get positions every year. I do believe they understand the issues and the growth.”