9 Investigates: Orange County Sheriff's Office staffing audit

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — 9 Investigates obtained a report that suggests staffing shortages in some parts of Orange County are leading to some deputies being overworked and preventing proactive patrols.

Investigative reporter Karla Ray first reported on the Matrix Consulting Firm’s $100,000 study, which could lead to re-drawing sector boundaries in Orange County for the first time in a decade.

The sheriff’s office has received the first draft of that report, which suggests the county needs to hire 27 additional deputies.

A map in the report illustrates one problem, showing call volume within the county’s 28 patrol zones is much higher in some areas, including east Orange County.

A quick drive along Innovation Way or through Avalon Park, and it’s easy to see why deputies assigned to work in that area, known as Sector 2, have higher workloads.

An official review of calls for service and time spent at each call shows deputies assigned to Sector 2, which is the size of half the county, are only able to use an average of 30 percent of their time proactively policing. That includes engaging with people in the community outside of calls for service.

That’s the lowest proactivity percentage in the county, according to the report.

The disparities are even more apparent when broken down by patrol zones within sectors. Proposed changes would push the total number of patrol zones from 28 to 73 in order to even out workloads across the county.

The Matrix study found there are enough deputies for “basic” patrol, but in order to be more proactive, the consultant suggested hiring 27 more for uniform patrol.

A sheriff’s office spokesperson told 9 Investigates via email that because the report was only a “draft,” it was too early to comment or speculate on any proposed changes or the potential cost to hire additional deputies.

Cox Media Group