Siesta Key's new deputies prepare for spring break crowds

The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Department added two full-time deputies to focus solely on Siesta Key in October. Now that the deputies have worked their new roles for a few months, they are prepared to focus on spring break crowds.

Before the June 2021 budget meeting that created the new deputy positions, the law enforcement presence on the island primarily focused on daytime activities. Now, Siesta Key has had at least one deputy present at most times each day.

“We’re trying to spread the manpower out the best we can,” Captain Bryan Ivings said of Siesta Key. “The two deputies have worked for us for many, many years and they were chosen through a selection process.”

The deputies work from 4 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Both deputies are present on Thursday and Friday, which are the days the most calls are received, according to Ivings.

Siesta Key’s two new deputies are Jim Lynch and Mark Eve. Both deputies had previous experience in Siesta Key before taking the positions.

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“Both of them have already spent time in Siesta Key,” Kaitlyn Perez, Sarasota Sheriff’s Department Community Affairs Director said. “They’ve made relationships in the business community. When people see them, they’re already going to know them.”

With more than three months in their new roles, the new deputies will have the annual challenge of keeping spring break events safe and under control.

Spring break season affected Siesta Key from March to April each year. This year will be the first time the island has dedicated deputies during spring break season.

“We get an influx of high school and college students. We tend to focus a lot of our assets to Siesta Key during that time for any issues that may happen,” Ivings said. “You just want to be present to prevent anything from happening.”

During spring break season, it is not uncommon for 500,000 people to be in the Sarasota area. During that time, additional personnel is focused on Siesta Key and will be again alongside the new deputies.

With more than a month before spring break truly makes an impact, Perez said the sheriff’s department will try to give the public a heads-up on traffic, parking and crowd concerns to minimize confusion and incidents.

“We’ll have a lot of people on a small barrier island,” Perez said. “We’ll have signs out and we want to inform people when the lot fills up. We do everything we can to make sure everybody has a safe and enjoyable experience.”

Perez recommended using ride-hailing apps to minimize the traffic on Siesta Key during spring break season. Congestion to some degree will be unavoidable, but Perez said educating the public in real time will be a focus for the department.

Reporting incidents on Siesta Key has the same protocol as doing so on the mainland. If an emergency arises, citizens should call 911. Calling 941-316-1201 will request assistance in a nonemergency setting.

“Spring break brings lots of people to Sarasota. They come for our beautiful waterways and things like that,” Perez said. “It’s a big part of tourism here and we want everyone to have a great experience and come back. We try to be as proactive as possible.”