Sarasota County is located on Florida's Gulf Coast. Our jurisdiction encompasses 572 square miles, including 35 miles of shoreline. The county is home to 396,000 residents - a number that swells to more than 500,000 residents during winter months.
The agency employs nearly 1,000 sworn and civilian members. Personnel duties include patrol, investigations, corrections, communications, youth services, K-9, victim’s assistance, court security, animal services, aviation, mounted patrol, SWAT and crime prevention. Another 100 volunteers assist our agency in various areas.
Compliance with professionally accepted national and state standards and regular review by outside professionals are important elements for ensuring acceptable agency practices. For many years, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office has been accredited by the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation (CFA) and the Florida Corrections Accreditation Commission (FCAC). The Public Safety Communications Center is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), and through the National/International Academies for Emergency Dispatch, obtaining accreditation for Medical Dispatch in 2004 and Fire Dispatch in 2009.