Sheriff’s Office 2022 in review

ANDREW WARFIELD STAFF WRITER

With a staff of 1,036 sworn deputies and civilians, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office serves a population of 452,373, plus an estimated seasonal population of 96,000 over 725 square miles. That doesn’t include an estimated 2.5 million tourists and visitors per year.

With a total fiscal year 2022 budget of $243.5 million, the Sheriff’s Office provides patrol, traffic, corrections, court and more services. In advance of the fiscal year 2023 budget season, Sheriff Kurt Hoffman released his 2022 annual report on the department’s activities on the ground, in the sky, at both ends of a leash and on horseback. Here are some of those policing activities by the numbers.

Mounted Patrol

Five horses, two full-time and five part-time riders and a barn technician. The unit participates in community events and parades, conducts traffic enforcement and more.

Training hours: 1,406

PERSONNEL

Sworn corrections deputies: 210

Civilian employees: 363

Sworn law enforcement deputies: 463

Hours worked on horseback: 5,200 K-9

Unit

Six K-9 teams focus on crime prevention and public education. K-9s and their handlers initiate missing person searches, apprehend fleeing criminals, conduct high-risk vehicle stops and article searches, perform drug odor and explosive detection and more. Deployments: 1,298

2022 Adopted Budget