for
immediate release
March 1, 2005
N
E W S R E L E A S E
The year 2004 was the busiest ever for the Okaloosa County Sheriffs Office. The 170,290 incidents logged through the Sheriffs Communications Center in Crestview represents an increase of 8.7% over 2003. Activity averaged more than 465 calls per day, or one incident handled every three minutes throughout the year.
Included in that number are 27,888 traffic stops, an average of more than 76 per day. Another 21,133 incidents were traffic-related, including traffic crashes, road hazards, and miscellaneous parking and traffic complaints.
By geographic area, 33% of all Sheriff's Office activity was in the Fort Walton Beach area, 19.7% in Destin, 13.5% in the Crestview area, 9% in the Mary Esther area, 8.4% in Shalimar, 7.2% in the Niceville area, 5.1% in the Baker, Laurel Hill, Holt, and Milligan areas, and 4% on Air Force property.
The most common types of incidents handled by the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office during 2004 include:
| Assistance to Citizens: | 11,040 |
| Serving warrants: | 8,182 |
| Alarm activations: | 8,161
(includes 8,143 false
alarms) |
| Theft | 6,920
(includes 2,861 gasoline drive-offs) |
| Non-domestic disturbances: | 6,472 |
| Off-duty details | 6,036 |
| Verifying 911 calls | 5,498 |
| Suspicious persons/activity | 5,276 |
| Security checks | 4,053 |
More complete activity statistics are available at www.sheriff-okaloosa.org
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for more information contact Rick Hord, Public Information Officer
(850) 651-7420