Multi-agency “Operation Impact” Concluded in Sarasota County

Between May 23 and June 1, a variety of different agencies in Sarasota County conducted a sweep meant to eliminate the perception that the environment was supportive of criminal behavior there.  “Operation Impact” involved officers from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Highway Patrol, the ATF and the Florida Department of Corrections, Probation and Parole and ended up netting dozens of arrests and hundreds of traffic citations. 

Operation Impact mainly focused on northern Sarasota County.  The idea behind it was to crack down on street crime.  In the crack down, there were nearly 80 arrests for over 130 charges.  Many of those had a history of criminal activity and the people arrested had a criminal history that included 569 former felony arrests and 693 prior misdemeanor arrests.  Of the people arrested in the sweep, only 14 have every actually been to prison before and eight are considered prolific offenders.

Operation Impact also included 60 probation checks, 68 criminal traffic citations and nearly 950 civil traffic citations, meaning that the criminal crackdown affected much more than just those arrested.  Officers worked with local businesses and worked with them and community groups to clean up street crime and to address noise complaints in the area.