SUBMITTED BY D/S JOHN PAUL HARVEY ID# 8296 PBSO TRAFFIC DIVISION – MOTOR UNIT
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Motor Unit. P Harley-Davidson®
alm Beach County is located in South Florida along the Atlantic Ocean. Measur- ing nearly 2,400 square miles, Palm Beach County is the largest county in Florida and is larger than the state of Rhode Island. It is also the third largest county in the state in population with approximately 1.3 million residents. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s
Office is the largest law enforcement agency with more than 4,000 employees, including more than 1,700 sworn law enforcement deputies. The Motor Unit is a full time, year-round, specialty unit within the Traffic Division that is comprised of 18 Deputies and two Sergeants. The PBSO Motor Unit has been patrolling exclusively on Motorcycles since 1994. Currently, they fairing model complete with
use the FLHTP Electra Glide®
custom decals, the latest technology in LED emergency lights and full size laptop computers contained within the radio box
8 THE MOTOR OFFICER™ | FALL 2012
with traffic citation and accident reporting software. Addi- tionally, all motors are outfitted with a 10" barrel M4 patrol rifle in the saddle bag for critical incidents. Harley-Davidson® motorcycles provide the best platform for a complete motor- cycle package that fits the needs of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. The PBSO Motor Unit is tasked with a wide range of pri-
mary responsibilities including traffic enforcement, traffic crash investigations and assisting road patrol. Last year the Motor Unit issued over 100,000 traffic citations and written warnings. All Deputies assigned to Motors are required to attend both the At Scene Traffic Homicide Investigation Course and the Advance Traffic Homicide Investigation Course. Many of the team members continue their professional education by successfully completing the Traffic Homicide Reconstruction Course. This advanced training was used in investigating nearly 450 traffic crashes last year. Palm Beach County includes many wealthy coastal towns such as Palm Beach, Jupiter, Manalapan and Boca Raton.