BY MARK SCHUMANN

Because the 3,000-resident enclave on the south barrier island is located just outside the city limits, police protection in the area is the responsibility of the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office.  Maybe it is time for that to change.

At a recent meeting of the South Beach Property Owners Association, Sheriff Deryl Loar was asked how long it takes his deputies to respond to emergency calls from residents living on the south barrier island. According to Loar, the average response time is six minutes.   Some in the press, who confuse skepticism with cynicism, doubt the Sheriff’s claim, just as they question his every word and critique his every move.

The Sheriff can defend himself.  My point here is to question if it makes sense for the Sheriff’s Office to continue patrolling the south barrier island.  For however much it costs the Sheriff to patrol the area, he could contract with the City of Vero Beach Police Department, which already assigns at least two officers to the island around the clock.

Because the population in the unincorporated area of the south barrier island does not warrant police presence 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the area is part of a larger Sheriff’s Office patrol zone that includes Indian River Boulevard south to Fourth Street.

For however long it takes a deputy, with emergency lights flashing and siren blaring, to drive up Indian River Boulevard, across the 17^th Street Bridge and south on A1A to the Moorings, a Vero Beach police officer could respond more quickly.  Surely it would take less time for an officer patrolling the central beach to respond to an emergency on the south barrier island.

Does it make sense for Vero Beach police officer to be patrolling the neighborhoods south of the city on the barrier island?  I would venture to guess none of the residents in the area would respond to the question, “Where do you live?” by answering, “Indian River County.”  Rather, to the person they likely would answer, “Vero Beach.”  It would hardly be a stretch, then, for the city’s police officers to protect people who tell their friends and family they live in Vero Beach.

It is time for local governments to stop competing with each other, and to instead begin looking for ways to better serve all the residents of Indian River County, wherever they may live.