Patrol

The Patrol Division of the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office is the largest and most visible division at the sheriff’s office and is considered the backbone of the agency.  It is staffed with 64 deputies responsible for delivering professional and efficient law enforcement services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  In 2011, patrol deputies responded to 62,939 calls for service, affected 2,012 arrests, wrote 10,916 traffic warnings, and issued 4,159 uniform traffic citations.

The 574 square miles that comprise Sumter County is divided into four patrol districts; the Villages District, the North District, the Central District, and the South District.  Each district is assigned a Patrol Lieutenant who is responsible for law enforcement operations in their assigned district.  Districts Lieutenants are tasked with ensuring that deputies are providing professional law enforcement services that are consistent with the professional standards established by Sheriff Farmer, and District Lieutenants are also empowered to deploy the required agency resources to address crime related issues affecting their districts.

Patrol deputies are assigned to one of four patrol squads working 12 hour shifts.  Each deputy is strategically deployed throughout the county through ten different patrol zones, and is under the immediate supervision of a Sergeant.  Two Sergeants are assigned to each patrol squad and are responsible for the direct supervision of the patrol deputies.  One Sergeant is responsible for the North sector of the county and one Sergeant is responsible for the South sector of the county.

Patrol deputies do much more than respond to calls for service.  They are out in the community and neighborhoods conducting preliminary investigations, performing traffic enforcement functions, making citizen contacts, and providing a visual law enforcement presence to business districts to deter criminal activity. 

Deputies deliver law enforcement services through use of state of the art and technology advanced equipment.  Each patrol vehicle is equipped with a Mobile Data Terminal (MDT) capable of wireless communications.  MDT’s allow the deputies to access local, state, and national databases for completing various inquiries’ of persons, vehicles, and property.  The MDT also allows for the wireless transmission of reports and other job specific documents, thus improving the overall efficiency, distribution, and communication amongst the many facets of the agency.