Polk County Sheriff’s Training and Respect Program
- Joint partnership between the Polk County Sheriff's Office,
Grady Judd, Sheriff, the Board of County Commissioners, the Florida Department
of Juvenile Justice, the Polk County School Board, Phoenix Clinical Services, and the citizens of Polk County.
- The Polk County Sheriff’s Training and Respect Program, formerly known as the Juvenile Boot Camp and dedicated to the
memory of Congressional Medal of Honor recipient James Henry Mills of Fort Meade, is located
just south of the Central County Jail, 2325 Bob Phillips Road, Bartow. 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.
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- The Polk County S.T.A.R. program was first opened on September 30, 1994 as a Boot Camp with two 20-bed wings
with an attached center control room, a classroom training building, and obstacle course.
Two additional 20-bed wings, an additional classroom, a general purpose hall, an aftercare
office, and a transition housing dormitory have been added since the original opening.
The S.T.A.R. 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.
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Commander: Captain Kurt D. Lockwood.
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The curriculum component factors include
rigorous physical training with educational instruction,
vocational
training, and psychological counseling. The S.T.A.R. program experience lasts a total of twelve
months: four months of on-site residential training followed by four months of on-site transition followed by
four months of closely monitored conditional release.
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Mission: To
provide a balanced approach that changes the criminal beliefs and
behavior of the offenders, increases public safety, provides department
and offender accountability, and afford opportunity for youth to develop
into responsible citizens.
Aftercare: To include
psychological assistance, provide community-based options, solutions, and supervision. The
community solutions include a mentoring program with the assistance of private service
organizations, job training skills, and employment when appropriate.
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