04-15-2009, 09:58 PM
Sheriff’s office to transport prisoners
By THOMAS MICHALSKI
Article published on Tuesday, April 14, 2009
PINELLAS PARK – The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office soon will take over prisoner transportation responsibilities Pinellas Park thanks to a $3.1 million U.S. Justice Department grant.
Pinellas Park was the latest municipality signing on for the service on April 9. The Pinellas Park City Council approved the plan after presentations by police Chief Dorene Thomas and Sheriff Jim Coats. The project is expected to begin sometime in May and run for 18 months.
Other the cities involved in the program include Clearwater, Dunedin, Madeira Beach, Oldsmar, Safety Harbor, Seminole, Gulfport, Largo, St. Pete Beach and Tarpon Springs.
Only St. Petersburg rejected the plan and instead will receive its $1.7 million portion of the grant while continuing to transport its own prisoners.
The Sheriff’s Office will administer the grant and purchase 14 new prisoner vans to add to its present pool of eight vehicles. Deputies and vans will be in service only 20 hours a day.
The project is a result of a pilot program in Clearwater through which deputies recently took over transporting prisoners on a trial basis. It was declared a success shortly thereafter, a sheriff’s spokeswoman said, due to its efficiency and because it released more officers from transportation duties to get back on patrol.
Prisoner transportation currently is provided by municipal agencies, but it can take several hours to process paperwork and prisoners at the Pinellas County Jail. The idea, Coats said, is to free up police officers for street duty instead of having to be at the jail while prisoners are processed.
Some police departments, however, such as Pinellas Park, do not have holding cells so questions arose about security and safety of both prisoners and officers.
In previous years, local police departments were able to apply for federal money to cover the costs of training and equipment. The new prisoner transportation project, however, causes municipal agencies to lose that funding since the Sheriff’s Office will administer the grant money.
Thomas said the project would not cause a loss of manpower. She pointed out that her department, under a separate pending U.S. Department of Justice grant, may soon hire new police officers that would bring the force to about 105 officers.
Coats said the prisoner transportation grant would not stop departments from applying for other federal monies. He said the new project came after discussions between his office and local police and municipal administrators.
“This project will help keep more officers on the streets,” Coats said.
Coats said the sheriff’s office will transport all but those individuals who need incarceration under the state’s Baker Act. That act permits mental health professionals, police and judges to initiate involuntary examinations and further assistance when a person is deemed to be unstable.
Coats said both juvenile and adult prisoners will be transported by deputies. He noted that those deputies also will act as backup officers for municipal police should the need arise. He said prisoners with minor injuries would be treated by the county jail’s medical staff rather than at local hospitals.
The Pinellas Park Council approved the project 4-1 with Councilman Ed Taylor voting against it.
Councilwoman Sandra Bradbury questioned the ability of sheriff’s deputies backing up municipal police when they do not now under some circumstances.
“I monitor police calls at home and hear deputies telling each other that local police can handle certain incidents even when they (the deputies) are at or near the scene,” Bradbury said.
Article published on Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Copyright © Tampa Bay Newspapers: All rights reserved
By THOMAS MICHALSKI
Article published on Tuesday, April 14, 2009
PINELLAS PARK – The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office soon will take over prisoner transportation responsibilities Pinellas Park thanks to a $3.1 million U.S. Justice Department grant.
Pinellas Park was the latest municipality signing on for the service on April 9. The Pinellas Park City Council approved the plan after presentations by police Chief Dorene Thomas and Sheriff Jim Coats. The project is expected to begin sometime in May and run for 18 months.
Other the cities involved in the program include Clearwater, Dunedin, Madeira Beach, Oldsmar, Safety Harbor, Seminole, Gulfport, Largo, St. Pete Beach and Tarpon Springs.
Only St. Petersburg rejected the plan and instead will receive its $1.7 million portion of the grant while continuing to transport its own prisoners.
The Sheriff’s Office will administer the grant and purchase 14 new prisoner vans to add to its present pool of eight vehicles. Deputies and vans will be in service only 20 hours a day.
The project is a result of a pilot program in Clearwater through which deputies recently took over transporting prisoners on a trial basis. It was declared a success shortly thereafter, a sheriff’s spokeswoman said, due to its efficiency and because it released more officers from transportation duties to get back on patrol.
Prisoner transportation currently is provided by municipal agencies, but it can take several hours to process paperwork and prisoners at the Pinellas County Jail. The idea, Coats said, is to free up police officers for street duty instead of having to be at the jail while prisoners are processed.
Some police departments, however, such as Pinellas Park, do not have holding cells so questions arose about security and safety of both prisoners and officers.
In previous years, local police departments were able to apply for federal money to cover the costs of training and equipment. The new prisoner transportation project, however, causes municipal agencies to lose that funding since the Sheriff’s Office will administer the grant money.
Thomas said the project would not cause a loss of manpower. She pointed out that her department, under a separate pending U.S. Department of Justice grant, may soon hire new police officers that would bring the force to about 105 officers.
Coats said the prisoner transportation grant would not stop departments from applying for other federal monies. He said the new project came after discussions between his office and local police and municipal administrators.
“This project will help keep more officers on the streets,” Coats said.
Coats said the sheriff’s office will transport all but those individuals who need incarceration under the state’s Baker Act. That act permits mental health professionals, police and judges to initiate involuntary examinations and further assistance when a person is deemed to be unstable.
Coats said both juvenile and adult prisoners will be transported by deputies. He noted that those deputies also will act as backup officers for municipal police should the need arise. He said prisoners with minor injuries would be treated by the county jail’s medical staff rather than at local hospitals.
The Pinellas Park Council approved the project 4-1 with Councilman Ed Taylor voting against it.
Councilwoman Sandra Bradbury questioned the ability of sheriff’s deputies backing up municipal police when they do not now under some circumstances.
“I monitor police calls at home and hear deputies telling each other that local police can handle certain incidents even when they (the deputies) are at or near the scene,” Bradbury said.
Article published on Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Copyright © Tampa Bay Newspapers: All rights reserved