Charlotte County Sheriff's Office

The current county jail is located at 26601 Airport Road in Punta Gorda, near the Punta Gorda Airport and the Charlotte campus of Florida SouthWestern State College. It was built in 2001 and has a capacity of 1,074. It is described by the sheriff's office as a "direct supervision jail," differing from conventional jails in that an officer is stationed within the housing unit.[10][11] The sheriff's office and health provider Corizon Health have been criticized after numerous inmates have died in custody at the Charlotte County Jail and lawsuits were filed by the inmates' families.[12]

On January 17, 2008, Denise Amber Lee, whom was 21 years old at the time of her death, was kidnapped from her home in North Port, Florida and taken to Charlotte County to be raped and murdered by an individual named Michael King.[14] Numerous calls were placed to 911 emergency services in relation to the incident, some of which were routed to the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office. Notably, a 911 call was placed by Jane Kowalski, a woman from Tampa, Florida, whom thought she was witnessing a child abduction while traveling on U.S. 41 in Port Charlotte, Florida. It has been argued that information provided Kowalski could have saved Denise Amber Lee's life had the information been properly relayed to deputies in the field searching for Lee and her abductor.[15] Her captor, Michael King, was found by the Florida Highway Patrol while turning onto Interstate 75 from Toledo Blade Blvd in North Port; Denise Amber Lee had been murdered and dumped in Charlotte County.[16] This incident led to the passing of the Denise Amber Lee Act, which established additional training for 911 dispatchers in Florida. [17]