Monroe County Sheriff's Office Annual Report - 2009

the four sergeants and fifteen deputies in the district. Chief of Police
and Commanding Officer, Captain Don Fanelli makes certain the
Village of Islamorada receives the tailored law enforcement service it
deserves.
In 2009, Captain Don Fanelli, with the help of Hal Barrett
and Crime Stoppers, placed signs in area bridges warning
people to lock their car doors.
The Village consists of four main islands totaling sixteen miles in
length. It is up to patrol deputies to safeguard this forty four squares
mile municipality. Surrounded by water and numerous smaller, uninhabited
islands, Village deputies patrol the waters with three patrol
boats, one part-time and two full-time marine officers. With a permanent
resident population between seven and eight thousand, these
officers respond to emergencies and calls for service from the community,
as well as providing deterrence of criminal activity through
highly visible patrol and other proactive enforcement means.
District Six members are encouraged to participate in a variety
of Law Enforcement actions. Some of them include DUI Saturation
Patrol, Juvenile Alcohol Purchase Prevention, Teen Drinking & Gang
Participation and DUI Checkpoints.
The Village population easily doubles during peak tourist
season, holidays and many special events. The Village is known as
“The sports fishing capital of the world” having twelve hundred plus
registered businesses that play host to our visitors and residents
alike. While patrolling the streets and waters we are devoted to providing
the best professional service in order to make available a safe
environment for everyone residing in and traveling through Islamorada.
To accomplish this we attend and take active participation in
Village Town Hall Meetings, Village Council Meetings, Crime Watch
Meetings and Homeowner Association Meetings, to name a few.
District Six is committed to the principles of community-oriented
policing, building partnerships between the community and high
One of our biggest tributes to community policing is National
Night Out. This event brings law enforcement and community
together for an evening of food, fun and displays.
This year District Six participated in the 4th Annual Keys Cops
for Kids Bowl-a-thon and Toyz for Keyz Kids, collecting toys for
needy children for Christmas. Sheriff’s Safety Day at Montessori
School taught a variety of topics. Additionally, Sheriff’s Deputies
taught confidence building, teamwork, leadership skills and other law
enforcement related training to the Sheriff’s Office Explorers at the
Florida Explorer Training Camp.
Enforcement is an obvious part of law enforcement. During 2009
deputies in District Six handled 21,345 total calls for service, (reported
and self initiated). District deputies conducted several DUI check
points quite a few proactive traffic enforcement details including a
commercial vehicle enforcement effort targeting commercial vehicle
safety. This year the Village of Islamorada has received a grant which
supplies local law enforcement with a fully equipped DUI enforcement
trailer to assist us in keeping the highways and roadways of our
community safer.
Officers routinely and pro-actively identify and address areas of
concern and quality of life issues within the community before they
present a problem to the community. Consistently formulating new
plans to combat problems within the district, several directed patrols
were initiated this year as a result of our officers identifying potential
traffic safety problems. High visibility and traffic enforcement along
U.S. One is a priority in order for our highway to remain as safe as
possible.
The Sheriff’s Marine Units enforce marine violations with a philosophy
of compliance through education to the boating public. They
also work numerous events such as Memorial Day and Hospitality
Week, formally known as Bartenders Weekend, which draws thousands
of people and boats from across the state employed in liquor
establishments and associated occupations. It is Monroe County
Sheriff’s Office, Islamorada’s law enforcement, tasked both on land
and water, assuring the preservation of law order.
It is however, proactive and innovative breakthroughs of deputies
and supervisors keeping Islamorada one of the safest areas of the
Florida Keys.
Islamorada Marine deputies at a community event.
Sheriff’s Dive Team members talk to kid’s in Islamorada.
visibility law enforcement. Assuring a safe community and a high
quality of life for residents and visitors is our highest priority.
Events, exhibitions and participation in the community are
an essential part of successful community policing. The Islamorada
deputies participate in numerous events throughout the year including
events such as Blessing of the Fleet, Taste of Islamorada, Bay
Jam, Art Under Oaks, Village of Islamorada Holiday Fest, Village of
Islamorada Santa Ride and The Annual Nautical Flea Market.
Monroe County Sheriff’s Office - Annual Report 2009
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Ensuring the sheriff’s philosophy and style of communitypolicing,
building partnerships, addressing quality of life issues and
involvement in the community is what makes all of Monroe County
a safe place to live and visit and the Sheriff’s Office a satisfying and
rewarding place to work.
Pursuing the best level of law enforcement we can and following
the motto of Sheriff Robert Peryam, “Do the right thing, for the right
reason, at the right time - always” provides the citizens of Monroe
County a rewarding place to live and the visitors a fun and satisfying
stay.