The Investigation
Division at the Gulf County Sheriff’s Office consists of Criminal Investigators
and Narcotic Investigators. The division is made up of seven sworn law
enforcement officers: one Captain, one Lieutenant and five Investigators. Lead
by Captain Ricky Tolbert, four Investigators are assigned to Criminal
Investigations and two are assigned to Special Investigations. These officers
rotate an on call schedule 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Criminal Investigations
Criminal
Investigations is responsible for investigating property crimes and crimes
against persons. These type crimes include burglary, theft, battery, sex
offenses, child abuse, murder, etc. They also investigate financial and fraud
cases. The Investigators document all information gathered, conduct interviews,
and prepare the case for court. To aide in the processing of crime scenes, the
Gulf County Sheriff’s Office has a non-sworn Crime Scene Technician. This
person documents and gathers physical evidence at scenes, along with other
responsibilities.
Due to the growing
number of Children who use the internet, the Gulf County Sheriff’s Office has
one investigator assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce.
The taskforce is made up of local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies
who actively investigate cases of online exploitation. This includes the sexual
solicitation of children online and child pornography investigations.
At the Gulf County
Sheriff’s Office, Criminal Investigations keep track of the Sexual Offenders and
Sexual Predators in Gulf County. As a result of the Jessica Lunsford Act, all
offenders and predators have to reregister bi-annually or quarterly. Personal, address, vehicle, vessel,
employment, probation, and adjudication information is collected during each reregistration, along with email addresses and internet screen names. This
information, including a photograph, is submitted electronically to the Florida
Department of Law Enforcement Sex Offender Unit. For more information on these
offenders, click the 'Sex Offenders' link on the left-hand side of your screen.
Special Investigations
Special
Investigations primarily investigate drug related offenses. Cultivation,
manufacturing, possession, and the sale of narcotics are investigated by these
investigators. Up-to-date monitoring and surveillance equipment is used in
undercover operations. Investigators rely on information provided by
concerned citizens regarding possible drug activity.
Gulf County Sheriff's Office
1000 Cecil G. Costin Sr. Blvd
Port St. Joe, FL 32456
(850)227-1115 or (850)639-5717
