Dear Friend,
This truly is the most wonderful time of year. As we approach the holidays, we are reminded of the spirit of Christmas - goodwill toward others, and peace on Earth.
While peace across the entire planet may not be easily accomplished, what we do in our every day lives can bring some peace to the citizens of Polk County.
Things can get hectic around Christmas time; traffic gets congested, there are crowds at the stores. If you find yourself getting perturbed, try pausing, taking a deep breath, and letting go of the anger. Many crimes occur each day simply because someone lost their cool.
Christmas helps us remember that we're all in this together, and we all need to get along. And the New Year is a great follow-up, because we can resolve to work toward treating others better...simple things like smiling more, being polite, and being considerate.
Many crimes are rooted in not treating others the way each of us would like to be treated.
I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas, that you can spend it with the family and friends you love, and that 2019 is a great year for you.
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Want to help us help others for Christmas?
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Every year, the Polk County Sheriff's Office
"adopts" needy families in the communities we serve for Christmas-we use money from Polk Sheriff's Charities and donations from PCSO members to help. We acquire new toys and clothing for the children in these families, as well as a Chris
tmas meal for the family.
If you would like to help, CLICK HERE for the list of items and sizes for our adopted family, and to where you can deliver the items. 
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Stop the Door Handle Flippers
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Why make it easier on someone whose goal is to make you a victim of crime? While crime in unincorporated Polk County is at a 46-year-low, there is still some crime. Car burglary is one of the crimes we see most. And OVERWHELMINGLY, those burglaries are to unlocked cars. If you follow these rules, we can't guarantee you won't ever have your car broken into, but it is FAR less likely.
1. Lock your vehicles.
2. Don't leave valuables in your car, or at least put them in the trunk.
3. Don't leave packages in plain sight that a burglar might assume contains something valuable.
Most car burglaries are committed by someone who goes from car to car flipping door handles until they find one unlocked. Crooks are looking for an easy score. At least give them a challenge.
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Hear Sheriff Judd whenever you want!
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Did you know Sheriff Grady Judd stars in a weekly podcast called "Not in My County," with new episodes released each Friday? It's available on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Tunein, Spotify, Amazon Alexa, and Google Home. Different guests join the Sheriff each week, and of course he always has a "crazy criminal" story to tell.
Click here to access the website.
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New PCSO Members
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Please join Sheriff Judd in welcoming to our family the November new hires!
From L to R next to Sheriff Judd: Victoria Dowdy, Cynthia Siler, Tashavia Graham, Jennifer Hall, Joel Cuencas, Leonardo Medina, Jean Christina, Cathy Rogers, Alexionna Wyche, and Robert Witham, Jr.
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New PCSO Deputies
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The following detention deputies and deputy sheriffs were administered the oath of office by Sheriff Judd during a ceremony on Monday, November 26, 2018 - welcome to the PCSO green team!
From L to R: Detention Deputies Andrew Justus and David Morse
From L to R: Deputy Sheriffs Edson Chavez, Christopher Costine, Carson Miller, Wayne Primus, Juan Sanchez, Annette Smalley, and Aaron "Seth" Vaughn
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Prepare and Protect
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The
PCSO Active Assailant Preparation Program includes the
Concealed Weapons Permit class required by the FL Dept of Agriculture AND best practices on how to prepare for, prevent, or respond to an active assailant.
THE FIRST CLASS IS SCHEDULED FOR SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15th, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
IF YOU WISH TO ATTEND YOU MUST CALL 863-298-6242 during normal office hours (Mon-Fri, 8-5) to reserve your spot. There are only 50 spots per class so call now before they fill up.
Cost of the class is $50; proceeds go to Polk Sheriff's Charities, Inc., and the cost is non-refundable.
The concealed weapon permit class is from 8:00 a.m. to noon, followed by a one-hour lunch break. The active assailant preparation training follows from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
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Thank you for coming to Pet Fest!
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Thank you so much to all of you who visited our annual Pet Fest at Polk County Animal Control on Saturday, December 1st! This year we adopted out 108 dogs and 11 cats, for a new record of
119 total pets finding furr-ever homes!
We'd like to thank our dedicated Animal Control staff members, our volunteers, and our sponsors - they work hard all year to make this a great holiday and family-friendly event.
Don't forget, you can always adopt a cat or a dog from our facility (located at 7115 de Castro Rd in Winter Haven, just off the Winter Lake Rd exit of the Polk Parkway) during normal business hours.
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Save the Date!
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Our favorite jeeping event will be here very soon!
Jeepin' With Sheriff Judd is scheduled for February 22-24, 2019.
Click here to visit our website and learn more about how to become a sponsor, vendor, or attendee. Admission is free for everyone, but those who wish to register for a course will have to donate to Polk Sheriff's Charities, Inc. We always have some great raffle prizes too! We can't wait to see you there!
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Keep in touch with PCSO online
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The
Polk County Sheriff's Office
is on Facebook at facebook.com/polkcountysheriff. It's a great way for PCSO to share news, alerts, warnings, and events. And pictures. Lots of fun pictures.
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