It is the mission of the Clay County Detention Facility to provide a safe,

 secure,  functional and humane environment for inmates, staff, and visitors.

The Clay County Jail was re-accredited by the Florida Corrections Accreditation Commission, Inc. (FCAC) at a commission meeting in Ft. Myers, FL on October 7th, 2006.  The Clay County Detention Facility passed all of the 263 recognized standards with honorable mention. Many of standards were noted by the FCAC Chairman, Sheriff Rick Roth from Monroe County, when he presented the Certificate of Accreditation to Sheriff Rick Beseler.  The men and women of the Clay County Detention Bureau are well trained professionals who take pride in their jail facility. The Detention Bureau encompasses much more than the running of the Clay County Jail.  The services these employees provide reach out beyond jail walls.

Detention Bureau Commander: ….......Major Carl J. Crossley

Detention Bureau Chief:…………………...Captain J.M. Smith

Security Commander:………………………..Lt. Carl Harter

Administrative Section:……………………..Lt. James Messer

Warrants / Transport Unit:………………..Lt. Tom Waugh

Chaplain:…………………………………………….Doug Matyi

JAIL SECURITY

The Security Section of the Detention Bureau provides for the safety of the local community by insuring the Jail Facility is secure.  The Security Section’s primary responsibility is for the care, custody, and control of the jails inmate population.  Whether moving inmates between the courts, to medical appointments, or for programs, the Security Section is responsible for that safe transition.  In addition to inmate movement, the Security Section delivers and supervises inmate meals, population counts and cell cleanliness.  With continuous searches and security checks throughout the entire jail complex, the Security Section ensures a safe environment for those housed here as well as those that work and visit the Jail Facility.

ADMINISTRATION

The Administrative Section of the Detention Bureau is responsible for Court Security, Court Liaison, inmate programs, inmate sentencing, medical security, accreditation and inspections.  One of the most advantageous services that we provide is the SWEAT program.  The “Sheriff’s Work Ethic and Training” program is for youthful offenders under the age of 18.  Each Saturday these youths, who are sentenced by the court, go throughout the county and pick up trash on the side of the road.  This program serves as a deterrent for future offenders and helps to keep our county clean.  Each of the units mentioned here provides a valuable service to the taxpayers of Clay County.

WARRANTS / FUGITIVE AND TRANSPORT SECTION

The Warrants/Fugitive and Transport section consists of one lieutenant, one sergeant over each unit, and five officers assigned to each unit.  Two civilian Warrants Specialists are assigned to the section and are responsible for receiving, logging and verifying the continuous flow of daily paperwork from various entities plus answering in excess of one hundred telephone calls a day.  The Transport Unit averages more than one thousand transports a year, moving over seventeen hundred inmates in or out of the jail facility.  This unit is responsible for all extraditions in the United States and U. S. Territories.  Transports consist of inmates who have committed minor offenses to inmates on death row.  The Warrants Unit is responsible for the location and apprehension of all issued warrants, affidavits, child support writs, juvenile custody pick-up orders and ex-parte orders.  In the first eight months of 2007, the Warrants Unit received over 3,555 warrants, and served 2,653 of those received.