Infrastructure
Utilities
Bradford County has three electric providers to choose
from: City of Starke, Clay Electric and Florida Power &
Light (FPL). For regional utility company listings, click here.
Fire Protection
There are 6 volunteer and 1 full time fire stations
throughout the County with approximately 105 volunteer
personnel, and 9 full-time and part-time employees,
equipped with 26 vehicles and 3-staffed ambulances. EMS
is a third service with 12 full time paramedics.
Starke Police Department
Since I, Jeff Johnson, became Chief of Police in
2009, the Starke Police Department currently employs
seventeen full-time officers, four part-time officers
and four support personnel. This Department embraces the
community and is always seeking individuals who are
willing to perform at the highest level of
professionalism. We are truly driven by the pride and
commitment of our professional personnel. Through the
effort of this department, the City of Starke is
currently experiencing its lowest rate of crime within
the past thirty years. The Starke Police Department is
recognized as a leader in the Law Enforcement community
due to our innovative ways of educating the community
and enforcing the laws. For two years 2004 and 2007 we
have placed first in the State of Florida and third in
the Nation in the “Police Chief’s Challenge”, which
recognizes the efforts and effectiveness of law
enforcement agencies in such areas as education,
training, and community awareness efforts.
While we are dedicated to the effort of keeping up with
the rapid advances of technology, we are also dedicated
to the principal of valuing our personnel. To that end,
we promote constant training to provide the highest
standard of professional and efficient service with an
emphasis on compassion and care for the citizens we have
taken an oath to serve.
We have work with the school system by placing one
full-time officer within the schools as a D.A.R.E.
officer. This enables our officer to work with the
children of this community to raise awareness of drug
use and how to resist peer pressure among other issues.
The officer also counsels children who are having
difficulties at school or at home. This enable our
officer a unique format in which to aid the community by
enlisting the help of the school, along with the
parents, to educate and reinforce the values that will
build a stronger community.
Thank to grants such as V.O.C.A., the Starke Police
Department has been able to provide this community with
the much needed services of our Victim Advocate, Jim
Lewis, which assists victims of crime and disasters, by
arranging counseling and locating other services that
would aid in the healing process. Jim is also our Crime
Prevention Officer. He assists the community by
providing information on how they can prevent crime and
offers safety information.
K-ID Card System
Child identification system that allows your child’s
information to be stored information to be stored in a
database, that if your child ever goes missing their
information can be transmitted to all law enforcement
and news agencies that have internet service. The
parents/guardians receive a hard plastic card, similar
to a driver’s license, with their child’s photo and
information printed on it.
L.O.C.A.T.O.R. SYSTEM
This system works by scanning photos of missing person
to create and send flyers to help locate them, it also
alerts other agencies with the system of missing persons
in outside areas. It also works with the K-ID card
systems allowing flyers to be distributed quickly
throughout the community.
All programs that are offered here at the Starke Police
Department are free of charge. They we created to insure
the safety of our community and new programs will be
created to address any issues that arise during my term
as Chief of Police.
Bradford County Sheriff's
Department
The Sheriff’s department sponsors a very active
Explorer Post consisting of young people between the
ages 12-18. They also have a Mounted Posse consisting of
employees and citizen volunteers who ride horses, very
helpful in locating lost children, adults, crowd
control, and working remote crime scenes. The Sheriff’s
office runs a citizen’s academy once a year where
citizens can learn much more about what goes on in their
Sheriff’s Office. |
