Department of Detention

Department of Detention

The Department of Detention, under the command of Chief Steve Lester, operates Polk County's two detention facilities, the booking facilities, courtroom security Court Process, S.T.A.R. Program, county farm and several Polk County inmate work programs outside the facilities.

Security Division

Central County Jail
The Central County Jail (formerly the Annex) was constructed in 1985 and 1988 at a cost of $17.5 million and houses maximum, medium and minimum custody inmates. Designed to house 800 inmates, the daily average inmate population for 2005 was 1067.

A courtroom is provided at the Central County Jail for First Appearance and other hearings.

South County Jail
The largest and newest facility in Polk County's detention system, the South County Jail in Frostproof, was completed in late 1999. The grand opening ceremony was held March 21, 2000. The facility is designed to house up to 1,008 inmates, the daily average inmate population for 2005 was 1651

Sheriff's Training and Respect Program (S.T.A.R.)

The Polk County S.T.A.R. program, which was implemented July 1, 2006 after Governor Bush signed the Martin Lee Anderson Act, is the first and only such program in the State of Florida.

The S.T.A.R. program facility takes boys, ages 14 to 18, who have been adjudicated guilty by a judge. The program places an emphasis on the safety of Polk County citizens by removing juvenile offenders from the general population and into incarceration.

Support Division
The Support Division encompasses many areas that support the facilities.

Intake and Records Bureau
The Intake and Records Bureau is located at the Booking facility and includes Inmate Intake and Inmate Records sections.

The Inmate Intake Section consists of 4 squads. Inmate Intake is located in Bartow, at the Lawrence W. Crow Jr. Operations Center. Inmate Intake processes all inmates that enter into the Polk County Jail. In the year 2006, 31,600 inmates were booked into the Polk County Jail and 31,717 were booked out. Also, 3,392 warrants were served by Detention Deputies working in Inmate Intake and over 45 million dollars was processed from cash bonds, surety bonds, purges, etc.

The Inmate Records Section consists of the Classifications Unit, the Objective Classifications Unit and the Booking Clerk Unit. The Inmate Records Specialists generate a hard file and a computer file on all inmates, when they are booked in. They also complete a book out process for all inmates before they leave the Polk County Jail. The Classifications Unit is responsible for the maintenance of all inmate files throughout their incarceration. All time credits are calculated and all court documents are placed in the inmate's file. The Objective Classifications Unit assesses each inmate that has extended time in the Polk County Jail to determine their custody levels and continually reassess them when incidents occur that may change their level. In the year 2006, the Classifications Unit processed 47,047 court snap-outs, calculated 8,579 inmate credits and outdates, notified 3,743 victims of inmate's status and sent 2,770 inmates to State Prison. The Objective Classifications Unit assessed and reassessed 27,933 inmates.

Court and Support Services Bureau

The Court and Support Services Bureau includes the Inmate Programs, Food Service, Court Security, and Court Process Sections.

Inmate Programs

The Transportation Unit transported 67,517 inmates during 2006, from state-wide inmate transports to local medical transports. The Inmate Services Unit provides trustee labor for 30 different work locations, including the Detention Farm. This unit also includes the inmate mail service, Detention Counselors, Faith-Based program, and the Inmate Disciplinary Board. The Inmate Programs Section also operates an Inmate Work Program for approximately 190 inmates each weekend in 2006. These inmates are sentenced by the courts to this program as an alternative to incarceration. These inmates perform duties such as picking up litter along County roads and school beautification. In addition to this program is the Inmate Work Program which allows inmates to report directly to County and city offices to fulfill their sentence by working Monday through Friday. Together these programs produced a savings of over two million dollars to the tax payers of Polk County in 2006.

Food Service
The Food Service Section staff is composed of certified food service detention deputies and Food Service Specialist (Civilians). They supervise an inmate work force of 100 inmates. Some of the food used for inmate meals has been raised and harvested by inmate labor. The Food Service Section cooked and served over 3,132,544 meals on 2006 at one of the lowest cost-per-meal rate in the state.

Court Security

The Court Security Section includes the bailiffs and security personnel providing courtroom security and maintaining the walk-through metal detectors at the Polk County Courthouse. The bailiffs provide security to the district, circuit and county courts.

Court Process

The Court Process Section serves any legal process originating from the Supreme Courts, Circuit Courts, County Courts, local governmental code enforcement boards and other governmental agencies.

Information about the Detention Disturbance Team (DDT) and the Detention Honor Guard is also available.