Captain Kenneth Pendarvis has been a member of the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office since 1994. His previous positions within the agency include Detention Deputy, Community Maintenance Program Deputy, Transport Deputy, Security Corporal, Security Sergeant, Operations Sergeant, Security Lieutenant, and Operations Lieutenant.

He is a lifelong citizen of Highlands County, graduating from Lake Placid High School in 1993. He enrolled and completed the South Florida Community College Corrections Academy the summer following his high school graduation and on his 19th birthday, he submitted his application for employment with the Sheriff’s Office. He has now spent over half of his life serving the county.

The Detention Operations Division is comprised of a number of units which support the operation of the detention facility. 

• Classifications - The Classifications Unit is responsible for interviewing and assigning a security housing classification to each person housed in the facility. They also track the length of sentence for each inmate to assure they are held the appropriate length of time.
• Inmate Programs - The Detention Bureau provides a number of inmate programs, such as religious services, substance abuse, and mental health counseling.
• Transportation - The Transportation Unit delivers inmates to various destinations around the state. The trips include medical services, delivering inmates to the state prison system, and pick ups from other county jails.
• Food Services - Food Services provides meals that have been certified by a dietician to the inmate population while utilizing cost efficient methods.
• Community Maintenance Program - The CMP was established by the Sheriff's Office, the Board of County Commissioners, and Judges of the Circuit and County Courts to allow individuals to serve their sentences by working on weekends and various weekdays in lieu of being incarcerated.
• Facility Maintenance - Provides maintenance and repair services for the administrative offices and jail. Maintains and coordinates preventative maintenance for the facility infrastructure to ensure maximum use of our assets.