Glover School · Photo: Ebyabe · CC BY-SA 3.0Who polices Willow Oak, and what they report
Willow Oak has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Polk County. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office reports to the FBI for the parts of the county without police of their own, so there are no figures for Willow Oak alone, and no Safety Grade.
What stands out about safety in Willow Oak
Policed by the county
Willow Oak is a census-designated place, with no town government. Crimes there are reported to the FBI inside the Polk County Sheriff’s Office’s totals for the county. County police ↓
Counts, not rates
The FBI doesn’t publish how many people the Polk County Sheriff’s Office covers, so its totals can’t be turned into a per-resident rate or a grade for Willow Oak. County police ↓
The nearest graded towns
The closest Florida towns with their own police figures are Lakeland (C−, 10 mi), Bartow (C−, 13 mi), Auburndale (C, 19 mi). Nearby towns can differ a lot from Willow Oak. Nearest ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What the Polk County Sheriff’s Office reports
Crimes reported to the FBI for the whole area the department covers, by year.
Reports to the FBI for the parts of Polk County without police of their own, which include Willow Oak.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
2025 offenses reported by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office
Counts, not rates: the FBI doesn’t publish how many people each agency covers. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Tables 10–11.
The nearest Florida towns with a Safety Grade
Each town’s own police figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
| Town | Grade | Distance | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeland | C− | 10 mi | 3.8 | 17.3 |
| Bartow | C− | 13 mi | 4.1 | 16.6 |
| Auburndale | C | 19 mi | 2.0 | 19.3 |
| Winter Haven | C | 20 mi | 2.8 | 15.7 |
| Temple Terrace | C | 23 mi | 3.3 | 15.8 |
| Lake Alfred | B+ | 24 mi | 0.8 | 9.7 |
Straight-line distance from the center of Willow Oak. Nearby towns can differ a lot from Willow Oak.
Seven people died in crashes on Willow Oak’s roads in 2019–2023
Willow Oak had 5 fatal crashes in five years, in which seven people died; 1 was a pedestrian.
That is about what is typical for Florida towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (11.0 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Willow Oak’s size would see about 4 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Willow Oak’s own rate (18.8) is context, not a ranking.
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Willow Oak and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mulberry | — | — | — |
| Medulla | — | — | — |
| Fuller Heights | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Mulberry has no FBI figures of its own for 2023–2025. Medulla and Fuller Heights are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- A county agency covers a wide area. Its totals mix many communities, so they say little about any one of them.
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Willow Oak
Is Willow Oak, FL safe?
There is no Safety Grade for Willow Oak. Willow Oak has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Polk County. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office reports to the FBI for the parts of the county without police of their own, so there are no figures for Willow Oak alone, and no Safety Grade. The nearest Florida towns with a grade are Lakeland (C−, 10 mi), Bartow (C−, 13 mi), Auburndale (C, 19 mi).
Who polices Willow Oak?
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office. Willow Oak is an unincorporated community, and the department reports to the FBI for the parts of Polk County without police of their own.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Willow Oak.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.