News and Investigations

News & Investigations

News Releases and Public Information

Welcome to the Polk County Sheriff's Office News Room, where the Public Information Officers (PIO's) post all of the information that they release to the news media. PIO's act as liaisons between news media organizations and the Sheriff's Office. The PIO's routinely release timely and accurate information and Crime Stoppers bulletins, and respond to routine and "breaking news" media inquiries. News releases and Crime Stoppers information can be found on this page.

PCSO's full-time Public Information Officers are Brian Bruchey, Carrie Horstman, and Meghan Petty. The Public Information Officers can be reached by sending an e-mail collectively at PIOs@polksheriff.org.

The recent news releases sent out by the PIOs can be found here, and archived releases (older than 2017) can be found here.

Jun 28, 2017

Sheriff Judd announces 2016 Polk Uniform Crime Report Data: Crime down 2.0% in PCSO Jurisdiction

Media Contact: Carrie Horstman, PIO

According to Uniform Crime Report (UCR) statistics, as reported semi-annually and annually to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), there were 161 fewer crimes in 2016 than in 2015 in the Polk County Sheriff's Office primary jurisdiction.

The jurisdiction includes all of unincorporated Polk County; cities contracted with the PCSO including Polk City, Frostproof, Eagle Lake, Fort Meade, Dundee, and Mulberry; and the town of Hillcrest Heights and the village of Highland Park.

There were 8,041 crimes in 2015 as compared to 7,880 crimes in 2016, a total reduction in reported crimes of 2.0%.

This decline continues a trend of eight consecutive years of lower crime and crime rates in PCSO's jurisdiction.

Solving homicides, preventing crime, and keeping Polk County's citizens safe, are our top three priorities. We are committed, 24 hours a day and seven days a week, to being proactive and keeping Polk County a great place to live, work, play, and visit.

There were decreases in the following crime categories: homicides, robberies. aggravated assaults, burglaries, larcenies, and motor vehicle thefts.

Overall crime was down 2.0% and the crime rate (crimes per 100 persons) is down 4.1%.

Crime in the Polk County unincorporated area and Sheriff's Office contract cities:

Category	2015	2016
Homicides	16	14
Forced Sex Offenses	85	139
Robberies	136	135
Aggravated Assaults	1,103	1,086
Burglaries	1,962	1,748
Larcenies	4,251	4,124
Motor Vehicle Thefts	578	634
TOTAL CRIMES	8,041	7,880

Polk crime rate is at historic low.

Polk County's crime rate in the unincorporated areas and contract cities (for which the Polk County Sheriff's Office is responsible) also dropped from 2015 to 2016, according to the Uniform Crime Report (UCR) statistics reported annually to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

The crime rate, which is the number of crimes per 100 residents, is down 4.1% from 2015 (1.95) to 2016 (1.87). This is the lowest crime rate ever measured in the Polk County Sheriff's Office jurisdiction, breaking the previous record low of 1.95 crimes per 100 from last year. Reliable crime statistics in Polk County started in 1971, when the crime rate was recorded at 4.16 crimes per 100.

Since 1997, the crime rate in Polk County has fallen by 72%. In 2016, the Polk/PCSO crime rate was 44% less than the Florida state crime rate (1.87 compared to 3.34).*

"Our proactive policing strategies cannot be successful without the valuable partnerships and relationships we have with our citizens and local businesses. Thank you for your support and commitment to helping us make Polk County such a safe place to work, live, and play." - Grady Judd, Sheriff

*most recent number published by the FBI's Uniform Crime Report.