Cops in Miramar Beach? WCSO operations & DUI discussion

[North Lake]

Using those same sources, Okaloosa County is 4 times the population, and only twice the expense. And that county also has several municiple agencies with their own budget.
Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!

And they also have Eglin AFB and Hurlburt Field occupying a good bit of their county (and a good bit of that 4X population) where the Sheriff has no enforcement authority; and the municipalities, where the Sheriff defers to local city police, e.g., Ft. Walton Beach, Niceville, and Crestview. In Walton, we have only the City of DeFuniak Springs which has its own Police Department, and we have the Eglin reservation (about 21% of the county's land mass). However, Eglin defers to local enforcement/prosecution except for federally-exclusive crimes; e.g., espionage, treason, etc. that occur on the reservation outside the confines of the bases themselves. Eglin Security can detain a drunk driver or fleeing felon, but the local sheriff has to come arrest and prosecute said person. On the bases proper (both situated in Okaloosa County), Air Force Security has exclusive jurisdiction for everything -- but then the general public doesn't just drive onto the bases. You have to have a sticker on your windshield and a military ID card, or a guest pass to get on the bases. You can't make apples to apples comparisons to Okaloosa County's situation. Same for Bay County since they have both the Navy base and Tyndall AFB, and several municipalities that have their own Police Departments; and half our geographic size. In Walton County, the Sheriff must cover all 1100 square miles of the county except for the small part that is City of DeFuniak Springs. If you see a lot of deputies down here in SoWal, its because our population is more dense down here...and I dare say there are more complaints and calls to the Sheriff's Office from down here than from north of the Bay.

 

[emeraldcoastdav]

Their is a very good basketball game on right now. I suggest we watch and get back to this later.

 

[North Lake]

Intresting fact:
based on latest census info our nearest comps in population in Fl counties are Gadsden, and Hendry. Both their real expenditures for those I listed above are almost exactly 1/3 of Walton County's. Around $10,000,000. In 2007.
Wow!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, and neither of those counties are comparable to Walton's situation as a coastal county with a large functional population (i.e, tourists) for 2/3 to 3/4 of the year that is not counted by the census. They are inland rural counties with no coast line. Gadsden does have a stretch of Interstate 10 through it as we do; but it also has the cities of Chattahoochee and Quincy along that stretch - both with Police Departments. The rest of the county is rural area and farms. Hendry County is also a rural county with the small cities of LaBelle and Clewiston; wrapped around the southern edge of Lake Okeechobee -- lots of sugar cane fields, part of the Everglades, and I believe part of the Seminole Reservation (which has it's own tribal law enforcement). Neither of those counties have Walton County's land mass or similar population dynamics; and in my mind cannot be considered similar to the situation we have in Walton County.

Dave, Kurt has vouched for you as a good guy; and you're certainly entitled to your opinion -- but you really seem intent on making Walton County and its law enforcement efforts look bad. Since you chose Walton County as your residence, is there a reason for this?

 

[North Lake]

Didn't they build a new jail?

Yes, we did. $16 million worth. From what I understand from the county's Finance Director and the Construction Manager, the new jail was completely paid for the day the county occupied it -- no loans, no bonds -- free and clear. And the cost of operation of the jail is lower now under the BCC than it was under the previous sheriff and his predecessors that ran the jail.

 

[ShallowsNole]

I was going to comment, but there is nothing constructive I can add.

 

[emeraldcoastdav]

Kansas basketball is great this year!

 

[emeraldcoastdav]

North lake,
I don't believe mil bases and colleges are counted as residents in census. Therefore those counties that are home to them have additional responsabilities. Should cost more.

 

[emeraldcoastdav]

North lake,
if you read from the beginning you will se my issue is abundance of cops at off season. Off season is when tourist are not here. And census numbers are right. You pour sensitive soul. What makes you think my opinion makes this place look bad? I do live here and I would not spend this last two days writing unless I thought I was trying to improve it. I love what this place has given me. I love what I have given it.
I have the right to call a spade a spade. I have erned it.
At the beginning of this blog I had no idea the numbers I sited at the end, I just had a feeling there might be something unjust here. Through reserch throughout these numbers seem to indicate I might be accurate. The pennalty for DUI is typ but affect people differently. To those I mentioned at the beginning of the blog and myself. One incident can cost thousands and thousands of dollars. If we are not policed like others in the state and country i say we should look at it, talk about it.

 

[emeraldcoastdav]

North lake, I don't believe the dollars to build the jail are reflected in the dollars I sited. If you know they are show me where to confirm it.

 

[North Lake]

North lake,
I don't believe mil bases and colleges are counted as residents in census. Therefore those counties that are home to them have additional responsabilities. Should cost more.

How's Kansas doing? Wife is asleep, so I don't have the tv on.

With regard to military population, colleges, etc., they are counted by the U.S. census in a county's population -- even the 1400-1500 "guests of the state" out at the Walton Correctional Institute north of DeFuniak Springs are counted in Walton's present estimated 57K+ population. This is the source of a bit of controversy, and has resulted in a number of Attorney General Opinions that came to bear during our (and other counties) redistricting efforts after each census.

Actually, our census population in 2000 was 40,601, which was something like a 46% increase over the 1990 census. Another census is coming up this year. It will be interesting to see how much we've really grown, or not, since 2000 -- and the dispersal of people within the county.