Community Involvement

The leaders of tomorrow, assisting law enforcement today.

The Mission Statement

The mission of the North Port Police Department Explorer Post 94 is to provide a positive relationship between Police Officers and Youth who wish to learn about a career in Law Enforcement. The North Port Police Explorers will not discriminate against any race, creed religion or gender. The Police Explorers will be required to be upstanding citizens within the community who maintain good grades, complete community volunteer hours, and have a desire to enter into law enforcement as a career.

Activities

Community Service
As part of the commitment to the community, the Police Explorer must take part in our community service program. The explorers volunteer at over 20 city events throughout the year.

Law Studies
The Explorer program during classroom instruction learns about Florida State Criminal and Traffic Laws.

Training
Explorers learn how to investigate crimes such as car crashes, traffic stops, search and arrests, building searches, First Aid/CPR, domestic crisis intervention, and in-progress calls for service. The explorer is also exposed to Taser and OC spray training.

Honor Guard
We have our own Honor Guard team that participates in City Events throughout the year. As future Police Officers, we learn that it is an honor to serve our country and presenting our Nation's Flag.

Ride Along Program
The Ride Along Program provides the Explorer (after becoming ride-a-long certified) with firsthand knowledge of basic police procedures, by supplementing classroom training through observation and communication with police officers and civilian employees during their performances of patrol functions.

Membership Requirements

• Be at least (14) years of age and not over (20) at the time of becoming a member.
• Must Maintain at least a “C” average and be enrolled in an accredited education institution until high school graduation or equivalent thereof.
• Each new explorer will have to pass a selection process which will include an oral interview and a background investigation.
• Once the prospective Explorer has turned in an application, the prospective explorer will go before an oral board consisting of advisers and post officers. At that time a vote into membership will be taken.
• The explorer will be on probation for a period of 90 days upon successful completion of testing requirements.
• The explorer post meets once a week for 3 hours and each explorer is required to maintain a high attendance rating.

Interested?

Complete the Explorer Application(PDF, 405KB) and send it to Senior Advisor Sergeant Shannon Fortuno. You can contact her at sfortuno@northportpdfl.gov.

Helping
Ensure
Active
Response by
Telephoning
Seniors

The HEARTS Program was initiated by the North Port Police Department to help ensure the welfare of our senior citizens.

The program is intended for seniors age 60 and over who may live alone, be disabled, have little or no contact with others on a daily basis, or may have a medical condition that makes them vulnerable.

The HEARTS Program utilizes trained volunteers to place wellbeing calls to seniors daily. Calls are made Monday through Sunday between the hours of 7 am and 8 am. If the call recipient does not answer the phone, volunteers are trained to take necessary steps, which may include contacting a list of emergency contacts or dispatching emergency personnel. Program participants must be a North Port resident and complete an application (see bottom of page).

Participants may be referred by family, friends, social workers, discharge planners, clergy and other organizations serving the needs of the elderly. Target participants include those who may not have local friends or family, who may not be able to get out of the house easily or those who could benefit from knowing that someone in the community cares about their wellbeing.

In addition to program participants, volunteers are needed to place calls. Applications may be found at the bottom of this page.

Program Guidelines

Our goal is to utilize volunteers to place a wellbeing call Monday through Sunday to program participants to ensure they are okay.

Who Can Participate

• Seniors ages 60 and over
• Must live in the City of North Port
• Seniors who may live alone, disabled, have little or no social contact with others on a daily basis or may have a medical condition that may make them vulnerable.

The North Port Police Department is concerned with the safety and welfare of all of our citizens and especially those who are in need of a little extra care and attention….our senior citizens. Seniors are valuable to us and our city! We welcome any and all questions about the program. Feel free to contact the program coordinator Mandy Lorenz at (941) 429-7341.

• HEARTS Program Application for Seniors(DOC, 163KB)
• HEARTS Program Volunteer Application for Civilians(DOC, 542KB)

Volunteers aid in the overall efficiency of our departments. With greater demands placed today, volunteers are absolutely vital to ensure that our departments have the time to focus on their key tasks. Volunteers are not utilized to replace personnel or other paid positions within the City of North Port, but rather to enhance the efficiency of the departments. As a result, this maximizes the effectiveness of personnel. The City of North Port values our volunteers and is very appreciative of their skills and commitment to the community.

Volunteer Service Aides

The City of North Port has a team of Volunteer Service Aides who help with everything from traffic control to community outreach.

Volunteer of the Year

2024 Volunteer of the Year- Gary Anderson

2023 Volunteer of the Year- Ruby Duclet 

2020 Volunteer of the Year - Larry Burns

2019 Volunteer of the Year - Mark Rizzo

2018 Volunteer of the Year - Julia Lozano

2017 Volunteer of the Year - Adam Mandel

For more information about our volunteer program, please contact SFortuno@northportpdfl.gov

The Citizens Public Safety Academy is a 13 week program to allow community members insight into the workings of the North Port Police Department and North Port Fire Rescue. During the CPSA experience, participants will learn about and participate in training, Investigations, fire safety, CPR, firearms, TASER, defensive tactics, fire extinguisher use and fire apparatus deployment.

In addition:

• Drone Training
• K9 experience
• Community Policing
• City Manager meet and greet
• Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Vega meet and greet
• State Attorney Ed Brodsky meet and greet
• NPPD Special Response Team Unit & Bearcat experience

To apply to the Citizens Public Safety Academy, please complete this form(PDF, 206KB) and return to the City of North Port Police Station located at 4980 City Hall Boulevard, North Port, FL 34286. You can also call Ivette Barnes at 941-429-7339 or email ibarnes@northportpdfl.gov for questions or to submit forms online.

The primary mission of Project Lifesaver is to provide a timely response to help save lives and reduce potential injury for adults and children with the propensity to wander due to a cognitive condition. On average, our agency works a missing person case every two weeks.

The bracelets or necklaces will be available for those residents who meet the criteria for FREE. NPPD staff has received training on how to use the radio frequency based tracking system.

If you or someone you know needs this valuable resource, please contact the Community Policing Unit by emailing CommunityPolicing@northportpdfl.gov.

Do the Right Thing of North Port, Inc. is a combined effort of the North Port Police Department, City of North Port and the Kiwanis Club, along with corporate sponsors, to honor youth in our community, on monthly basis, who distinguish themselves by their exemplary behavior. Fill out a nomination form(DOC, 243KB) and return it to the School Resource Officer, or mail it to the North Port Police Department at 4980 City Hall Boulevard, North Port, FL 34286.