Charlotte County sheriff highlights new communications center and on-site SANE exam room funded by 1-cent sales tax

Charlotte County Sheriff said in an interview with CCTV News reporter Elizabeth Sporillo that the county’s new administration building includes a "state-of-the-art communication center" intended to speed responses and make operations safer for deputies and first responders.

The sheriff said the facility also houses a new real-time intelligence unit — described as an "Arctic Center" — and that the office is bringing in additional artificial intelligence and other technologies to detect and follow crime trends. "It's going to be a state-of-the-art communication center," the sheriff said, adding that the technology will help the department "respond quicker to calls for service" and "make us respond safer."

The sheriff told the interviewer the project was funded through the county’s 1-cent local option sales tax and thanked voters who approved the measure. "This funded it; it was funded through the 1 cent sales tax," the sheriff said, noting several recent county facilities were built with the same funding source.

Officials said the new facility responds to past vulnerabilities and space shortfalls. The sheriff recalled damage to an older communications roof during Hurricane Charlie in 2003 and said previous headquarters and storefront locations were neither secure nor large enough for expanding operations. The new hardened communications center, paired with the county’s emergency operations center (EOC), allows staff to split operations across the river so one site can continue functioning if the other is compromised by severe weather.

The sheriff also described a victim-centered feature of the building: an exam room for people who report sexual assault or abuse. The sheriff said the office partnered with SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) nurses and the child protection team to bring examiners on-site so victims can receive private exams and evidence collection at the facility rather than in a crowded emergency room. "We also designed an exam room. This exam room is going to be able to be used for those who may be victims of sexual assault and/or abuse," the sheriff said, adding that staff could perform evidence collection in coordination with partner examiners.

The sheriff outlined how cases might be handled: responders could bring someone to the facility after arriving at a scene, victims could report directly at the site, or someone already at an emergency room could be offered the option to come to the sheriff's facility for follow-up examinations and evidence collection. The sheriff said staff would reach out to SANE nurses or the child protection team to arrange an examination.

The interview closed after the sheriff noted the facility’s ribbon cutting and reiterated gratitude that the sales tax helped fund the building. The sheriff said the new center positions the department for growth and increased operational resilience.