First, I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year! While the impacts of hurricanes Helene and Milton will define 2024, I wanted to highlight some of our achievements last year as we move forward into 2025. Our community plays just as big of a role in our success as our dedicated employees, so if it isn’t one of your resolutions already, I hope you’ll continue to stay in touch and keep reading Inside the Star. 

Lowering the Crime Rate. In 2024, the crime rate in the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office’s (PCSO) service area decreased by about 9.5 percent, which contributes to an overall 40 percent decrease over the last 10 years. This does not happen by accident – it happens because of hard work, leveraging technology, good laws, and good old fashioned proactive policing.

Improving Deputy Staffing. We need the best and brightest to keep our county safe. As part of a national trend, we had a shortage of deputies in patrol and in the jail in early 2024. In response we aggressively implemented recruiting strategies, with changes in pay, retention incentives, and other practices to both attract and keep the best deputies. That strategy worked, and staffing trends are now heading in the right direction. 

Innovations in Training. We recently integrated virtual reality (VR) into our training. While deputies will always get time on the range and engage in live scenario-based training, virtual reality is an excellent way to supplement, fine-tune, and solidify their training in Taser and firearms. The VR weapons are exactly like the real thing, except they can’t fire a bullet or probe. Deputies wear VR headsets and engage in a truly immersive experience, while instructors can observe their actions on a screen, and replay it afterward for evaluation. 

Emergency Vehicle and Pursuit Driving Training Facility. In 2024 we began construction on the first ever PCSO Emergency Vehicle Training Center that we expect to be completed later this year. Currently, we have to rely on borrowed or makeshift driving areas for training, but the dedicated new facility will have classroom space, a basic skills driving course, and an actual roadway system with traffic lights, etc. to conduct realistic driving training. Patrol deputies spend the majority of their workday in their vehicle on the streets of Pinellas County, and this new facility will ensure our members receive the best possible training. We’ll also use it for some of our public education programs – the Sheriff’s Citizens Academy has a vehicle operations night where citizens can test their skills on a pursuit course. Young drivers will also use the facility in the Teen Driver Challenge, where teens are taught defensive driving and vehicle control by PCSO’s own driving instructors.

Fleeing and Eluding Vehicle Forfeiture Program. In response to the increasing and persistent number of people fleeing from deputies who attempt to conduct a traffic stop, we implemented a program to seize cars from people who flee and elude. We have seized numerous vehicles since we implemented this tool, and now word has gotten out. Since the program began, we’ve seen a significant reduction in vehicles that attempt to flee a traffic stop. Simply put our message is: flee and we are taking your car.

Revised Threat Management Model. Threat management is the greatest opportunity to prevent violent crime. Our Threat Management Division is a model program for other agencies and has been nationally recognized for its successes. The concept of dedicated threat management divisions within law enforcement agencies is relatively new and we continue to evaluate and improve our program. We made some modifications this year to streamline processes and increase effectiveness. It is working well, and we continue to see great results. The St. Petersburg, Largo, and Clearwater police departments have recently assigned detectives to work in our Threat Management Division. The FBI and Secret Service have expressed interest in assigning personnel as well and we will have discussions with them about that in early 2025.

School Mapping Fully Implemented. When we respond to in-progress calls it is imperative that we know exactly where to go, and that can be challenging when responding to large locations with many buildings and rooms, such as schools. We partnered with Crisis Response Group last year to grid map all 160 Pinellas County Schools and other critical infrastructure buildings throughout the county. Deputies and city police officers throughout the county now have access to these maps on their phones for easy access when responding to calls, especially in-progress violent crime. We will continue to map more locations in 2025. 

Improved Countywide Collaboration on Active Assailant Response and Reunification. Up until 2024, each Pinellas County police and fire/EMS agency conducted their own active assailant response training and had their own protocols and policies. That meant a multiagency response would be disjointed. To fix that we developed a countywide active assailant response policy and implemented joint training. All law enforcement and fire/EMS personnel now attend training together and train under the same response protocols. Should the worst occur, we are now prepared to work effectively together. Also in 2024, all Pinellas County law enforcement and fire/EMS agencies joined to form a countywide Reunification Task Force. After a mass casualty incident – which could be an active assailant attack, natural disaster, or a large-scale accident like a plane crash or building collapse – reunifying victims with their families is very important. The Pinellas County Reunification Task Force is the first of its kind in the entire country and will be a model for others to follow.

Private School Safety Program Fully Implemented. In 2018, I was appointed by the governor to chair the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission. Through the commission’s work we have significantly improved school safety across Florida. The initial emphasis was on Florida’s 3,800 public schools. In 2023 here in Pinellas County, we began efforts to improve safety at private schools. We performed physical site vulnerability assessments, conducted active assailant response training, facilitated emergency drills, and offered private schools the opportunity to participate in our threat management program. In 2024, the Florida Legislature allocated $5 million for a statewide private school program modeled after our program. It began this summer and many law enforcement agencies across Florida are now working with private schools in their communities to improve school safety.

NIBIN Machine Installed. The National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) is operated by ATF and it compares shell casings fired from guns. Each gun produces unique, distinct markings on the shell casing when it is fired. NIBIN allows a shell casing found at a crime scene to be associated with a specific firearm, or to shell casings from another scene. We obtained a NIBIN machine last year and are now able to test shell casings and receive results in a matter of hours as opposed to the weeks it would take in the past when we had to send the shell casing to FDLE for analysis. 

Rapid DNA Machine Installed. When people are booked into the jail for a felony, we take a saliva swab for DNA testing. The swab is then sent to FDLE to determine if the subject’s DNA is present in the national DNA database, and whether that subject’s DNA was present at an unsolved crime, such as a murder or rape. This process used to take months, and by the time the results were back – possibly linking that subject to a homicide or other crime – the subject may have been released from jail. In 2024, we obtained funding for and installed a Rapid DNA machine at the jail. This is new and cutting-edge technology. Now jail personnel can take the swab, enter it in the Rapid DNA machine, and receive results back in as little as two hours – while the subject whose DNA might link them to a homicide is still in custody.

New PCSO Website Launched. Our website had always been a wealth of information, but as time marched on we found it wasn’t as intuitive, attractive, or helpful as it could be. To that end we built and launched www.pinellassheriff.gov. There you will find just about everything you could need or want to know about the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. I encourage you to take some time to browse the new site to learn more about our agency. 

I started my career at PCSO in 1982 as a deputy in the jail, and I’ve been sheriff since 2011. I have seen a lot over the last 42 years, and I know that PCSO has never been in better shape. We are well-positioned for many years to come. We are grateful for the unwavering support of the public as we strive to foster a safe community under the principles of integrity, accountability, and public trust.

As I begin my fourth full term in office, I look forward to continuing my efforts in leading the way for a safer Pinellas in 2025 and beyond.