The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office, in partnership with The Florida Sheriffs Task Force, recently participated in an initiative to remove wanted felons from our community.

Operation: Felon Sweep combined the efforts of 44 sheriff’s offices statewide and focused on arresting violent felons and felons with outstanding warrants.

The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office conducted this agency-wide operation from September 28th to October 21st, which resulted in 236 felony arrests, 91 probable cause arrests and the service of an additional 152 felony warrants.

“We are proud to announce these results in conjunction with this statewide initiative, but this is work that we do each and every day,” said Sheriff Tom Knight. “Sarasota County is fortunate that there is little violent crime here, but it is important to make sure citizens see these numbers and understand that our constant focus is on keeping them safe.”

Some of the offenders arrested during the felon sweep included child abusers, sex offenders and others wanted for domestic violence and drug-related crimes.