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Pinellas County is located in the Tampa Bay Area directly next to Hillsborough County. The county seat is Clearwater and is the location for the criminal justice center. With a total population of almost 1 million people, Pinellas County has a total area of 608 square miles. Pinellas County has several miles of beaches that make up the terrain of the western portion of the county. There are various police departments and municipalities located with the county. They include Belleair, Bellair Beach, Bellair Bluffs, Bellair Shores, Clearwater, Dunedin, Gulfport, Indian Rocks Beach, Indian Shores, Kenneth City, Largo, Madeira Beach, North Redington Beach, Oldsmar, Pinellas Park, Redington Beach, Redington Shores, Safety Harbor, Seminole, South Pasadena, St. Pete Beach, St. Petersburg, Tarpon Springs, and Treasure Island.
Primarliy patrolled by the Pinellas County Sheriffs Office, Pinellas County has a very proactive law enforcement community. The State Attorney's office in Pinellas County is notorious for being difficult to deal with. Any reduction of any criminal charge needs to be approved through a supervisor. The Sheriffs office has their own traffic enforcement unit called the STEP or special traffic enforcement program. They issue speeding ticket, careless driving citations, and make hundreds of DUI arrests. The Florida Highway Patrol is incredibly understaffed in Pinellas County. In 2008 there are less troopers patrolling the highways then there were back in the 1970s.
There are three courthouses that handle criminal and traffic matters. The first one is located in the southern portion of the county in St. Petersburg. It is referred to as the Tyrone Branch office and is located at 1800 66th Street North in St. Petersburg, FL 33710. The north county branch is located at 29582 US 19 North in Clearwater, FL 33761. The main judicial complex address is 14250 49th Street North, Clearwater, FL 33762.
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