Police Department Annual Awards Announced

Chief of Police Brian Smith has announced the recipients of the following awards for Calendar Year 2021:

• Officer of the Year - Police Officer Gregory Mullen
• Supervisor of the Year - Detective Jose Nuñez
• Civilian Employee of the Year - Alyssa Grammatico
• Police Volunteer of the Year - Alan Patti

The annual awards recognize sworn officers and civilians who work to protect lives, reduce crime and enhance police-community relations in the Town of Juno Beach.

The Police Foundation joins Chief Smith and the Police Department in congratulating and thanking these individuals for their service.

Tour de Force - Palm Beach County

Each year 200+ bicyclists, mostly Law Enforcement Officers and their family members, ride from North Miami Beach to Daytona Beach Shores - a 270 mile trip spread over 5 days! This year’s charity ride will travel through 62 different law-enforcement jurisdictions and will conclude at the Daytona Beach Public Safety Headquarters.

They make the grueling trip to honor and raise money for Florida’s Law Enforcement Fallen Heroes.

Juno Beach has always been the location of their Day 2 lunch break and they are expected to arrive at the Town Center at about noon on April 5th after the day's 27.4 mile leg of the trip. Sandwiches, refreshments and ice cream will await them as they make a short stop before proceeding on to Port St. Lucie and the end of day two of the journey.

The Police Foundation, in cooperation with Luke's Ice Cream, is pleased to be one of the sponsors for this year's Tour de Force lunch break.

Coffee With A Cop

After last month's successful Coffee With a Cop, Chief Smith and his Officers are looking forward to another record crowd at the April gathering!

The April event will be held on the Town Center patio starting at 9:30 AM on Wednesday, April 6th.

We invite all homeowners and residents to attend and learn more about their Juno Beach Police Department, the Juno Beach Police Foundation, and how you can help protect yourself from criminal activity.

Coffee and donuts are provided each month compliments of the Dunkin' Donuts shop on Donald Ross Road.

Police Foundation Grant Completed

In last month's newsletter we mentioned a grant by the Police Foundation to provide for a new Citizen Patrol vehicle.

The vehicle, a 2015 Ford Taurus is now in service to the community. It is being utilized by members of the highly successful Citizen Patrol Program in their mission to observe and report throughout the Town of Juno Beach.

The Police Foundation is happy to help increase the Quality of Life in Juno Beach by further supporting our dedicated Police Volunteers.

Police Department Drone Flights

Each week, drone pilots from the Juno Beach Police Department make routine flights over various sections of the Town. They do this to increase their efficiency in piloting, detection, and drone usage in crime-solving.

In Police work drones are typically used for critical incidents. They can be used to provide officers with real-time information, to find fleeing suspects or active shooters, to take aerial photos of crime scenes, and to provide an extra point of view for Officers operating on the ground.

Our JBPD drone crew recently captured video footage of the large brush fire in Juno Dunes where both the Florida Forest Service and the Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue crews battled the blaze while our Juno Beach Police Officers managed the heavy congestion of traffic in the area. A short video taken after the blaze was extinguished can be found by clicking here.

The Juno Beach Police Foundation is pleased to provide the funding for the agency's ongoing drone program.

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day!

Sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), National Take Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the public about the potential for abuse of medications.

The Juno Beach Police Department, in cooperation with the DEA, will have an Officer in the Police lobby on Saturday, April 30th, from 10AM to 2PM to accept drop offs

Last year's Take Back Day took in 745,000 Pounds of unneeded prescriptions from medicine cabinets across the country!

The Police Foundation urges you to remove unneeded medications from your home as a measure of preventing medication misuse.

New Police Department Grant Requests

As life continues to come back to normal, the needs of our Police Department are once again in clear focus by the Juno Beach Police Foundation.

The Foundation has recently approved two additional significant Grant Requests submitted by Chief of Police, Brian Smith.

• Ceramic Plates for Ballistic Vests - Our Police Officers currently wear ballistic vests that help protect them from handgun fire. Increasingly, violent attacks on Police Officers nationwide are now coming from rifles, known in Law Enforcement as long guns. To help protect our Juno Beach Police Officers even further, Chief Smith has asked the Police Foundation to fund ceramic plates that go into the officers' current ballistic vests, thus increasing their protection to rifle level. Grant request - $6,500.

• Night Vision Monocular - One of the most critical issues in nighttime patrol for law enforcement is the ability to see without being seen. This is a critical advantage contrasted sharply with the traditional officer pointing a flashlight at night. Criminals have flocked to the late hours of the evening and early hours of the morning for decades because it leveled the biological playing field for them in so many ways. They used the veil of darkness to cloak their crimes.

Chief Smith has asked the Police Foundation to help his Officers take back the tactical advantage by equipping them with night vision technology. Being able to illuminate, and see, in the world of darkness, our Officers can now achieve the advantage and level of safety they need to keep our community safe. Grant request - $3,300.

The Juno Beach Police Foundation was quick to approve these important Officer Safety requests submitted by Chief Smith.

Police Foundation Annual Campaign

The Annual Campaign of the Juno Beach Police Foundation began in December 2021 and continues well into 2022.

Incorporated in 2018, the Police Foundation has, with the support of the community, purchased numerous important items for the Juno Beach Police Department to help improve both their efficiency and community safety.

Grants from the Foundation to the Juno Beach Police Department well exceed $225,000.

With your support and that of the overall Juno Beach community the Police Foundation will continue in its efforts to "Help Ensure the Safety of Juno Beach>." Thank You!

Contributions to the Juno Beach Police Foundation may be tax-deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law. The Juno Beach Police Foundation is registered in Florida as a nonprofit corporation. The Foundation is a public from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. For complete financial and state disclosure information for the Juno Beach Police Foundation, please visit Disclosure