Officers assigned to the Community Relations Unit (CRU) coordinate outreach programs and community activities. You may have seen CRU members at National Night Out, toy drives, collecting and distributing school supplies, bicycle rodeos, after school tutoring programs, and other city events. Members are also visible doing daily foot and bicycle patrols in neighborhoods and parks.

The Community Relations Unit aims to engage with the community and facilitate a healthy relationship with community members in order to promote a safe and prosperous City of Sarasota. These officers are experts in outreach, and oversee several programs with children and students in the City. 

Police Explorers Program

The Sarasota Police Department’s Explorer Program is designed to provide the youth of our community an opportunity to explore law enforcement as a possible career in a supervised and regulated setting. The program builds upon the motto “Learn Today to Lead Tomorrow” by facilitating life skills such as communication, decision making, problem solving, and critical thinking to develop and encourage our future leaders.

Police Explorers are exposed to several aspects of the law enforcement profession to include the importance of giving back through the involvement of community service. They receive training in areas such as patrol procedures, report writing, defensive tactics, Florida law, and arrest procedures. This program is included in the Florida Association of Police Explorers (FAPE). which is a statewide organization developed to bring together law enforcement explorers from around the state. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Sgt. Comac at patrick.comack@sarasotaFL.gov