About Captain Doug Rau

Captain Rau was born in Fulton, Missouri, moving to Florida in 1968 and then to Palatka in 1987 He started his Corrections career in 1985, with the Florida Department of Corrections. Since 1987, he has been employed by the Putnam County Sheriff's Office. Rau is married to Wendy, and has twin boys.

Rau served as a Correctional Officer I at both Florida State Prison at Starke and Union Correctional Institution at Raiford, prior to starting as a Corrections Deputy with the Putnam County Sheriff's Office. He has held numerous positions within the Corrections Division, including Assistant Shift Commander at the rank of Corporal; Shift Commander at the rank of Sergeant; Support Services Supervisor at the rank of  Lieutenant; and in 2002 he was appointed as the Assistant Chief of Corrections at the rank of  Administrative Lieutenant. In 2005, agency reorganization resulted in the Assistant Chief of Corrections rank changing to Captain.

Rau completed the law enforcement academy in 1989 and is certified in both corrections and law enforcement. Capt. Rau has instructed many hours of in-service training for members of the agency.

During his career, Rau has been the Putnam County Sheriff's Office Defensive Tactics Coordinator; Defensive Tactics Instructor; Firearms Instructor; Livescan Agency Coordinator; Corrections Division Accreditation Manager; and the Commander of the Corrections Response Team.

Rau has also been a member of numerous committees, both for the Sheriff's Office and other agencies, including the Jail Expansion Needs Assessment Committee; Jail Design and Development Committee; PCSO Safety Committee; PCSO Technology Committee; Florida Department of Law Enforcement Livescan Validation Committee; and conducted a jail needs analysis for accreditation preparation. He is also a certified Florida Model Jail Standards Jail Inspector and an Assessor for the Florida Corrections Accreditation Commission. He is also a member of the American Correctional Association; American Jail Association; and the Florida Sheriff's Association.

Rau was awarded the Putnam County Sheriff's Office Outstanding Service Award in 1991 and the Life Saving Medal in 1998.

Rau was educated in the schools of Seminole County and holds an Associates Degree from Vincennes University, as well as a Bachelors Degree in Public Administration from Flagler College. Capt. Rau has participated in numerous Corrections, Law Enforcement and Executive Leadership courses as well, and is a graduate of the National Institute of Corrections Leadership Development Program.