2012 Annual Report.pdf - Polk County Sheriff's Office

Traffic UnitIn 2012, the Polk County Sheriff ’s Office TrafficHomicide Unit continued to educate the citizens of PolkCounty through their education and enforcement efforts.Members of this unit are specially trained to teach ouryounger drivers through two unique programs.Division LawtitleHere enforcementTraffic crashesinvestigated538DUIEnforcements581The first is SIDNE, (Simulated ImpairedDriving Experience), which utilizes a specially designedvehicle to allow teenagers to negotiate a course undernormal conditions, and then attempt it with delayedreactions similar to those of an impaired driver. This eyeopening program exposes the participant to real worldsituations and shows them that impaired driving can resultin cataclysmic consequences.The second program is the Sheriff ’s Teen DriverChallenge. This two day programconsists of both classroom andpractical driving applications allowsteenagers, utilizing their ownvehicles, to negotiate driving coursesunder the supervision of deputysheriffs who are certified as notonly DHSMV driving instructors,but are CJSTC driving instructorswho have been certified thoughthe Florida Sheriffs Association toteach this program.did youknow?In 2012, the PCSO TrafficHomicide Unit participated in the ClickIt or Ticket Program sponsored by theFlorida Department of Transportation.This is a series of two week campaignson the local, state, and national levelsthroughout the year which are gearedtowards the education of drivers aboutseat belt and child restraint laws.These campaigns consist of increasedenforcement targeting those drivers whofail to comply with life saving, injuryreducing measures and laws. For agenciesof the same size, the PCSO was awardedsecond place based on our crash reductionmeasures and increased seat belt usagerates following these campaigns.13