Six road deputies coming to Manatee County with two likely headed to Lakewood Ranch area

It’s undeniable that growth can bring more issues to a county.

That explains why the 2021 Manatee County Sheriff's Office budget includes 12 new positions, including six road deputies.

Thirty-six positions have been added to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office since Rick Wells was sworn in as sheriff Jan. 3, 2017. The number of deputies working for him has increased to 531.

“It’s exciting,” Manatee County District 5 Commissioner Vanessa Baugh said. “I think you’re going to find that the sheriff is going to be funded with the deputies he needs to meet the needs of our growing population. We do not need any defunding, we need an increase in funding.”

Every year when the Sheriff’s Office receives new officers, it evaluates the entire county to see where more are needed. For four years now, that means placing them in areas experiencing the most population growth — eastern and northern Manatee County.

Of the six road deputies being added this year, Wells said at least four of them will go to those parts of the county, likely with at least two each in the east and north.

“It helps us to be vigilant and to focus on what our job is,” Wells said. “It is to prevent crime."

Every January, the Sheriff’s Office holds a shift bid to help decide who works where. If more tenured deputies want to work in the east and north parts of the county, the new hires will fill the vacancies left by their experienced colleagues.

Similarly, the new cars provided in the budget in tandem with the new road deputies will actually go to seasoned veterans. The new hires will receive hand-me-downs.

The remainder of the six road deputy additions, those who will not be based in eastern and northern Manatee, will shift to the traffic unit. Wells said his deputies conduct most traffic enforcement in Manatee County because of understaffing issues at the Florida Highway Patrol. 

Wells said understaffing issues at highway patrol mean troopers are often spending their entire day going from crash to crash. The Sheriff’s Office typically works 150 to 175 crashes per month to take some of the load off highway troopers.

“They just don't have the amount of troopers in Manatee County that they need to respond to the traffic crashes and help out with speed enforcement like they used to,” Wells said. “And that’s a problem. I love those troopers and they do a good job. But they're just overwhelmed. Until they are able to either get additional spots for troopers and positions — I don't really know what's going on as far as their leadership in Tallahassee — I just know that these troopers don't have enough time to do anything proactive.”

As for the new Manatee deputies, they won’t have much experience because they are coming out of an academy. But Wells emphasized they will be fully trained. They will soon go through a field training officer program, and once they’ve completed it, they will begin patrolling on their own.

“Like all young guys and women do, they're learning,” Wells said. “They're learning everyday, because this is a complicated job now. You're never going to face something that you only were trained. There’s always new and exciting things that come up. They’ll be ready. I mean, they're going to be eager and ready to go. [But] they won't be like a seasoned deputy that's got 15 years in.”

Aside from the six new road deputies, one key addition will be a resource assistance program deputy dedicated to homeless outreach. In the past, the Sheriff’s Office has taken a team approach to assisting Manatee’s homeless population. Although Wells said deputies often take pride in working with homeless people — and they’ll still chip in at times — the deputies couldn’t spend much time with them because they would inevitably get pulled away to take care of other duties.

“This deputy, this new position ... that's her only job,” Wells said. “Each day, go into the homeless camps, try to figure out what we can do to bring services to them. How can we get them on the road to recovery? How can we get them in a better position? How can we find them housing? And how can we find the services they need?”