A portion of The Villages is located in Marion County, and as I understand it the primary law enforcement responsibility for that portion of The Villages belongs to the Marion County Sheriff's Office.
I have just received a copy of a letter from the State President of the Fraternal Order of Police addressed to the Marion County Commissioners, taking them to task for severely underfunding the Sheriff's Office. Among the detrimental effects of the underfunding is said to be a lengthy response to calls for police service. The letter says that the Sheriff states that response times range from 20 to 40 minutes after a call is received.
The office is also severely understaffed. The recommended ratio of law enforcement per 1,000 residents is 2.3 officers according to the
Bureau of Justice Statistics. Marion County has a ratio of just under 0.9 sworn officers per 1,000 residents.
On the Internet I located a statement by the Sheriff who described his office as in crisis, being understaffed, underpaid and ill equipped. He blamed the problems on the County Commission having severely cut the Sheriff's Office budget year after year.
I suspect that the problems of the Marion County Sheriff's Office are less evident here in The Villages since there are fewer occasions for conflict between neighbors than in the average neighborhood, but I would like to know what experience our residents have had.
Have you had to call the Marion County Sheriff's Office, and if so what was the response time? Were you satisfied with the service provided when the deputy arrived?
Thanks for any responses.