0 ~

i,onlo~epeals~

~ ~

The 2000 FSA

Correctional ONcerof the Year

Patrick Johnson named

correctional officer of the year

Each year, our association seeksnominations from sheriffs across thestate in an effort to determine who

will be named as the Florida SheriffsAssociation's Correctional Officer ofthe Year. Thereafter, at each FSAMid-Winter Conference, we announce

our winner.

Well, on the night of January 23,Correctional Officer Patrick DaleJohnson of the Jacksonville SherifFsOffice was named the winner for cal-

endar year 2000!Officer Johnson has been

employed in the corrections division

at the Jacksonville SherifFs Office for

nearly eight years. Since his hiringin the summer of 1993,Johnson hasworked in a variety of operationalpositions within their massive county

jail system. But, he has found hisniche working in the high stress and

high liability posts, supervising thesections of the jail that house theirjuvenile offenders and other highsecurity inmates, most often includ-

ing the seriously mentally ill.

While other jail personnel acrossthe state lean towards avoiding

assignment to these particular housing

areas, Officer Johnson has workedexclusively in these areas for the pastseveral years and seems to thrive in themost difficult of environments.

Johnson's supervisors report thathe always does more than is everexpected or required of him. He useshis interpersonal skills to manage themost difficult and challenging inmates

they house, and does it all in a mostexceptional manner.

Since joining the jail staff inJacksonville, Johnson has taken theinitiative to learn as much as hecan about special needs inmates, heattended specialized training in aneffort to learn the best techniquesfor dealing with the mentally ill, and

Continued on page 2

Clearwater —Jacksonville Sheriff Nat Glover (right) shares the honors with FSA President DonEslinger, the Sheriff of Seminole County (center), as he presents a plaque and a check for$1,000 to Jacksonville S.O. Correctional Oflicer Patrick Dale Sullivan, FSA's Correctional ONcerof the Year for the year 2000.

Continued from page 1

he was an active member of theweekly security committee thatmakes decisions on housing and

restrictions for these inmates.

Johnson figured out early in hisrelatively short career that his actions

can make a difference in the lives ofthose he touches. He is a role model

to juvenile inmates through his con-

sistent fairness, compassion and per-

sonal behavior.

In fact, one of his supervisorsrecently overheard a juvenile inmate

tell a newly admitted juvenileoffender, 'That's Officer PJ over there.

He is a straight-up guy. You can tell

him anything and he will take care ofthe problem. If he says he gonna do

it, he will. ..and if he says no, you

might as well just give it up. .."

As an example of Johnson's sense

of doing what's right, an incidentoccurred recently that draws a clearpicture of Johnson's dedication to his

fellow man.On that day this past December,

one of Johnson's subordinates came to

him and reported that one of theinmates in his charge feared that his

(the inmate's) girlfriend might have

taken an overdose of pills, Instead ofblowing it off like many others might

do, Johnson investigated further and

obtained the woman's telephone num-

ber from the inmate. Johnson called

the woman and spoke to her. She told

him that she'd been drinking vodka

all day, but had not taken any pills.

Most would have stopped there,but not Patrick Johnson.

Still feeling uncomfortable about

the situation presented to him, OKcerJohnson told Ms. Moore that he would

call her back to check on her later in

the day. About an hour later, John-son tried to contact Ms. Moore again,but nobody answered the phone thistime. Johnson immediately requested

that a uniformed deputy sheriff bedispatched to her home.

A patrol sergeant later called

Johnson and told him that they forced

entry into the woman's home after aknock on her door produced no

response. Upon entry, deputies found

that the woman had fallen uncon-

scious in bed, with a cigarette smolder-

ing and a space heater that was within

minutes of setting her bed ablaze.

About him, a proud Nat Glover,the sheriff of Jacksonville, stated thatJohnson follows his instincts, displays

sound judgement, uses common sense,

has the ability to deal with all people

in all circumstances, and that he iswilling to go over and above the call ofduty every time the situation allows

for it.All of these traits describe a cor-

rectional officer that any sheriff would

be proud to have on his staff. They all

describe Correctional Officer PatrickDale Johnson, and are the reasonswhy he has been named as our year2000 FSA Correctional Officer of theYear!

For his efforts, Johnson was pre-sented with a handsome plaque and acheck for $1,000.00

New Division Helps

Voiceless Victims

By Kirk EnglehardtPIO —Brocard Sheri ff's Office

Breaking the cycle of violence isthe mission of an innovative newinvestigative division at the Broward

County Sheriffs Office in Ft. Laud-erdale. The Special Victims andFamily Crimes Section combines theexpertise of detectives from BSO'sAbuse and Neglect, Sex Crimes,Domestic Violence, Animal Abuse,Victim Advocate, and Missing Per-sons Units. Many law enforcementagencies offer victim services, how-

ever, few, if any, have combined theresources into one common division

working full-time to investigate andprevent family related crime. By

sharing crucial investigative informa-

tion, detectives will be able to recog-nize individuals who are at risk ofbeing abused and refer those needing

special assistance to appropriate social

service agencies before it is too late.Broward Sheriff Ken Jenne points

out that several national studies have

shown that only 16 percent of sexualassaults and 10 percent of domesticviolence cases are reported to authori-

ties. The Sheriff hopes the new division

will encourage people to come forward

and start reporting rape and abuse. "Idon't care if our statistics go up. In thelong run this will bring more seriousdomestic crime, especially homicide,down. In my book, this is the ultimatein community policing.

"

BSO also recognizes that housepets are very often the first membersof the family to feel the pain of abuse.Animals make convenient targetsbecause they cannot report the abuseas a spouse or a child might. They also

cannot remove themselves from a vio-

lent household. Lt. Sherry Schlueter,who supervises the new section, saysall BSO deputies have been instructed

to look for all potential victims when

responding to domestic violence calls,starting with those most at risk: chil-

dren, the elderly and animals.

According to the NationalResource Center on Domestic Violence,

65 percent of all U.S. female homicide

victims are killed by someone theyknow. In 1998, 85 percent of victim-

ization by intimate partners wasagainst women. In the same year,about 1 million violent crimes werecommitted against individuals by theircurrent or former spouses, boyfriendsor girlfriends. As of mid-October, theBroward SherifFs Office had handledmore than 1,200 domestic violencecomplaints and five domestic-relatedmurders in 2000.

For further information on BSO'sSpecial Victims and Family CrimesSection, contact Lt. Sherry Schlueterat (954) 321-4200.

~ II ~ ~

EDITOR' SCORNER

By Tom Berlinger

Our sherNs areacting responsibly andhonorably on the racialprofiling issue

By Tom BerlingerAs in other areas of our country,

racial and ethnic profiling has becomean important topic of conversation incertain circles within the Florida legis-lature. In response to the issues thathave been raised, the Florida SheriffsAssociation (FSA) and the FloridaPolice Chiefs Association (FPCA)entered into a joint resolution last yearthat emphatically takes a standagainst racial profiling being used as aprimary reason for car stops. In addi-

tion, FSA and FPCA issued a modelpolicy to all sheriffs and police chiefsthat expressly prohibits racial profilingtoo.

Our associations, out of a strongdesire to act in a proper and profes-sional manner, have also recommended

that enhanced racial sensitivity issuesbe included in standardized trainingprograms that are to be approved inthe future by CJST. We also worked

with Russ Arend and the professionaltrainers at IPTM in Jacksonville andofficials of the Florida DOT and askedthem to produce a "roll-call" video train-ing tape on the topic. The tape has beenproduced, and it is about to be distrib-uted to all sheriffs for subsequent view-

ing by all deputies and police officersfrom Pensacola to Key West.

And, at the request of the sheriffsand police chiefs of the state, IPTM ishosting a series of training coursesaround the state on the topic of "Safeand Legal Traffic Stops, "with particularemphasis on racial profiling (see courselistings on page 8).

Fact is, all sheriffs and police chiefsin Florida are making a sincere, zeal-ous, and good faith effort to do every-thing reasonable to insure thatminorities are not unfairly targeted.

Notwithstanding that fact, membersof the law enforcement community con-tinue to remain the target of suspicionby some members of the Florida legisla-ture. Sen. Kendrick Meek of Miami(himself a former FHP trooper) and for-mer Rep. Tony Hill filed several bills lastyear on different angles of the racial pro-filing issue. Sen. Meek has already filedat least one more this session.

In a effort to show Sen. Meek, Rep.Hill and the ACLU (also our critics inthis regard) how sincere we were aboutstopping even the suspicion that racialprofiling was being used by localdeputies and police officers, (and if itwas, that we were doing somethingabout it) we invited all of them and the

Pubtisher

J.M. "Buddy" Phillips

Executive Director

Florida Sheriffs A88oeiation

itor

K+hlf::ToiviOFL8hetltfo, ore

The ALL POINTS BULLETIN is published quarterly,in Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, by the Florida Sher-iff Association, a noii-profit corporation.

The Florida Sheri6s Association intends to convey var-ious opinions of law enforcement individuals and organi-zations in the state of Florida, and national entities whichaffect the state. Therefore, articles published in APB donot IN88888rfly reflect th8 opfllfoiis Qf @leFlotldu 8118tiff8Association. The FSA by48ws peobibit, our eudoreemeut ar,guar8ntee ofany product, service or company reptesentedall tIho 8rtfel8$ or @dv~meu45&'~~~M

ACLU team to sit in on any of thesetraining events.

There were five initial classes indifFerent parts of the state, and IPTMextended an open invitation for themto come in and monitor any or all ofthe classes. Sadly, not a single one ofthem took IPTM up on the offer tosee the great things that are beingdone in these classes.

Whether racial profiling is a realproblem or no more than a perceptionproblem in Florida, it is importantthat our police executives take theissue seriously and do what they canto stop even the hint of suspicion thatit's happening.

Nobody can say with a straightface that our sheriffs haven' taddressed the issue in a responsibleand honorable way.

"America's Most Wanted"

tapes in Hillsborough

On February 6, 2001, Fox TV'sAmerica's Most Wanted went to Hills-borough County Sherifrs Office to tapefor the February 10th airing of theirshow. The show is seen in about 16million households nationwide. Theproducers of the show contacted theHillsborough County Sheriffs Office,desiring to feature HCSO's SheriffsEmergency Response Team in action.

Taping started at the FloridaState Fairgrounds on February 6th.Mr. John Walsh, the host, taped hisopening comments with their team inthe background and the sheriiTs heli-copter hovering behind him. The pro-duction crew then followed the team asit served two separate search war-rants, both of which were considered"high hazard" and which required theteam's expertise.

ThankfuHy, everything went well.Two persons were arrested and anassortment of drugs and weapons wereconfiscated. The extremely afFable Mr.Walsh, was very impressed with Theteam and it's commitment to excel-lence. He also noted the camaraderieamong the team members, as excep-tional. (Contributed by LieutenantRod Reder, PIO at HCSO)

3

Florida EmergencyMissing Child Alert

Announcing the Advanced

Community PolicingSymposium: Florida Style

22 New SheriffsTake Office

FDLE, in conjunction with theDepartment of Community Affairsand the Florida Association of Broad-

casters has established the FloridaEmergency Missing Child Alert(FEMCA) system.

The alert will be activated when achild abduction has occurred and the

following criteria has been met:

~ Child must be under 18 years of age~ Child must be in danger of serious

bodily harm or death~ There must be enough descriptive

information to believe a broadcast

will help~ The activation must be recom-

mended by the local law enforce-

ment agency ofjurisdiction

After the criteria hasbeen met, local law enforce-

ment will contact the Missing

Children Information Clear-

inghouse on the toll-free hot-

line number. The Tallahassee DutyDesk personnel will respond to all

after hours requests. The requesting

law enforcement agency and theFDLE will work together to determine

if information is to be broadcast on aregional and/or statewide basis. Sub-

sequently, the child and/or abductor's

descriptors and contact information

will be prepared for broadcast usingan approved format.

The information will then be

faxed to the Emergency OperationsCenter (EOC) in Tallahassee. Afterverification, the EOC will activate the

Emergency Alert System to therequested areas.

If you have any questions orwould like more information, pleasecontact the FDLE Missing ChildrenInformation Clearinghouse at 1-888-356-4774.

MIAMI —On April 17-19, 2001,

21 Century Solutions, Inc. , MiamiPolice Department and the FortLauderdale Police Department will

co-sponsor a symposium at theJames W. McLamore Executive Edu-

cation Center at University of Miami

School of Business. Advanced Com-

munity Policing Symposium: FloridaStyle is designed for officers, supervi-

sors and executives who seek knowl-

edge and expertise in movingforward in community policing.

This intensive training opportu-

nity will present new findings andnew approaches about communitypolicing. Faculty, consisting ofnational and Florida-based expertswill address how to overcome imple-

mentation issues with problem

solving, community interactionand organizational develop-ment. Using real world, oftenFlorida-based, examples, theywill demonstrate how commu-

nity policing techniques can be usedto address specific issues includingdomestic violence, homelessness,drugs, and school based problems.

To learn more about the Sympo-

sium and to register, call toll free 1-866-StudyC J (1-866-877-3925).

In the past few months, thestaff of the Florida Sheriffs Associ-ation has answered this question athousand times apiece.

"How many new sheriffs wereelected this year?"

Well, the answer is 22, butevery time we say the number, we

get something like, "Wow. ..I neverdreamed that there would beTHAT many. "

Fact is, a one-third turnover, or22, is the average number of sher-iffs turned over in Florida everyelection cycle for decades. And,across the nation, sheriffs turnoverat a consistent one-third rate aswell.

While each has their own

unique story, it is interesting tonote that of this group of newly-elected sheriffs, that O.L Rauler-son, Harrell Wood Revell andSammy Woodall all previouslyserved one or more terms as theelected sheriff in their home countyprior this most recent election.Sheriff Revell himself had retiredeight years ago, but decided tomake a comeback. Sheriffs Rauler-son and Woodall won election afterthe retirement of the incumbentthat was in office. (see photo, page 5)

Man arrested for breaking IN to jailDAYTONA BEACH - A man was arrested after trying to sneak into a

prison to get letters from his detained girlfriend he said he never received,

police said.Wayne Starkey, 35, was charged with burglary after trying to scale

the west guard tower of the Volusia County Correctional Facility, sherifFs

spokesman Gary Davidson said Wednesday. Starkey was released from

the Daytona Beach Branch Jail on $2,500 bond.

Starkey, of Daytona Beach, told prison officials he decided to climb

the tower Friday and look for the mail after not getting her letters,authorities said. The arrest came 10 minutes after Starkey was seenlurking behind the facility by a corrections officer and told to leave, prisonofficials said. (As originally reported by the Associated Press)

22 New Sheriffs Take OfficeTALLAHASSEE —In the December after each election cycle, the Florida

Sheriffs Association hosts a week long school for the individuals thatwere won the sherifFs race in November. This year, a total of 22 new

sheriffs were elected to replace the 8 sheriffs that retired and 14 thatwere defeated at the polls. This photo was taken while the sheriffs-

elect were in Tallahassee for the course.

Back row (left to right) is Ralph Johnson of Walton County;Johnny Smith of Levy County; Bill Clement of Charlotte County; Bob

White of Pasco County; O.L. Raulerson of Okeechobee County; Jim

Manfre of Flagler County; Roy Raymond of Indian River County; SammyWoodall of Dixie County; Rod Shoap of Lee County; David Tatum of Cal-

houn County, Wendell Hall of Santa Rosa County; Ed Bieluch of PalmBeach County and Ken Mascara of St. Lucie County.

Front row (leR to right) is Pete Bucher of Madison County; JohnFugate of DeSoto County; Richard Nugent of Hernando County; CharlieAycock of Osceola County; Bill Balkwill of Sarasota County; Ron McNesbyof Escambia County; Steve Worley of Hendry County; Ben Johnson of Volu-

sia County and Harrell Wood Revell of Liberty County.

~ II

Innovative PartnershipBrings South Florida's

Brightest Minds to theBroward Sheriff's Office

By Kirk Englehardt, BSO PublicInformation Officer

America's largest fully accreditedsherifFs office has teamed up with thenation's fastest growing university for

an innovative partnership that will

give graduate students the unprece-dented opportunity to see theirresearch put into action. Believed tobe the first of its kind in the U.S., thenew agreement allows the BrowardSheriff's Office to marry its lawenforcement know-how with thebrightest minds at Florida AtlanticUniversity.

Under a new 5-year contract,FAU will annually provide BSO with

four doctoral students and an advisor

who will conduct applied research tohelp enhance the administrative,support, and law enforcement oper-ations of the Sheriff's Office. Thestudents will be lending their expe-rience and expertise in the areas ofinformation technology, juvenile jus-tice, crime mapping, corrections,and law enforcement.

The new in-house "think tank"will help BSO develop new crimefighting tools and techniques while

creating groundbreaking programsthat will help BSO better serve thecommunity. The $100,000 a yearcontract will save the SherifFs Officemillions of dollars that would haveordinarily been spent to hire inde-pendent contractors to do the samework. Broward Sheriff Ken Jennesaid, "I'd rather partner with FAUthan with some high-priced consul-

tant who will be gone the next day.The sky's the limit in what we canachieve together. "

In addition to the doctoral stu-dents, FAU will be offering BSO abright group of public service ori-ented interns who will workthroughout the agency. Intended tobe a recruiting and education tool,Sheriff Jenne hopes to develop aprogram where students who areinterested in becoming deputies canearn their law enforcement certifica-tion along with their undergraduatedegree. They would then be guaran-teed a job with BSO after gradua-tion. It is another opportunity torecruit smart, disciplined, and moti-vated young men and women, manyof whom will be selected from theuniversity's athletic programs.

FAU President Anthony JamesCatanese said, " This partnershipbrings the resources of the univer-sity into the community in a perfectway. We consider it a pioneeringeffort. It could be a model for thecountry. " Continued on page 8

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continued from page 6BSO and FAU previously

teamed up to create the Center forAdvanced Criminal Justice Studies.In its 25-week Criminal JusticeExecutive Leadership Program,FAU professors and law enforce-ment experts teach accountability,ethics, team building, goal setting,and budgeting. The students, ordi-

narily mid and upper-level man-agers in law enforcement anddetention, also learn how todevelop community-based partner-ships and work effectively within apolitical environment.

For more information pleasecontact BSO Major John Carroll at954-831-8956.

Safe and Legal TrafficStops:A Free Training Course!

The Florida Sheriffs Association,the Florida Police Chiefs Associa-tion, the Florida Department ofTransportation and the Institute ofPolice Technology and Managementhave joined efforts in a proactiveway to help address the concern ofpossible racial profiling issues.

This one- day training programhas been developed for Florida lawenforcement officers to provide spe-

cific additional methods for conduct-

ing professional vehicle stops. Thetraining will offer an awareness ofthe ethnic, racial and culturalissues that officers are required todeal with during a vehicle stop.Officers will review and discussguidelines to follow to ensure thestops are made in a consistent andprofessional manner.

The 8-hour course will beoffered at numerous locationsthroughout the state. The course isgrant funded and there is no chargefor Florida officers.

The dates and locations forthese courses are as follows:

April 16 - TampaApril 17 - ClearwaterApril 18 - Crystal River

April 19 - BradentonApril 20 - Clewiston

April 30 - PensacolaMay 01 - Crestview

May 02 - Panama CityMay 03 - Marianna

May 05 - Tallahassee (*Tentative)

May 09 - OrlandoJune 12- MiamiJune 13 - N. Miami BeachJune 14 - Miami Shores

(*Tentative)June 15 - Coral SpringsJune 18 - Del Ray BeachJune 19 - Ft. Pierce (*Tentative)June 20 - Palm BayJune 21- OcalaJune 22 - Daytona Beach

Contact Russ Arend, IPTM at(904) 620-4786 for additionalinformation.

This will tick you off. ...

In 1993-94, law enforcementfamilies nationwide were aghast over

the Ice T album entitled, "CopKiller. " Words in the song call forthe murder of law enforcement offi-

cers, use extremely derogatory lan-

guage, and was actually the favorite

album a teenager who murdered alaw enforcement officer. After thealbum was released, the Concerns ofPolice Survivors (COPS) representa-tives participated in a protest atTime Warner's shareholders meet-ing in Beverly Hills to voice concernsover the distribution of this album.During the protest, Ice T himselfdrove by displaying a universal handgesture at the protesters.

"Law and Order: Special Vic-tims Unit, "which appears on Fridaynights on NBC has cast Ice T in therole of a New York City police detec-tive! A copy of the letter fromNational COPS to the people listedbelow is on the COPS website.Below are the addresses where youcan write to express your thoughtson the matter. Remember. . . like IceT, we also have free speech rights.(This info reprinted from COPS, Inc.Newsletter)

Dick Wolf, Executive ProducerLaw & Order: Special Victims UnitC/o Wolf FilmsPier 62

Hudson River at West 23rd StreetNew York, NY 10011

Julie Tucker, Casting DirectorLaw & Order: Special Victims UnitLynn Kressell CastingPier 62, Room 304

Hudson River at West 23rd StreetNew York, NY 10011

NBCLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit30 Rockefeller PlazaNew York, NY 10112

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New website onhomicide-suicide:A resource forprevention andintervention

A homicide-suicide occurs atleast once a week in Florida, andthey may be increasing in certainparts of the state, especially in theolder population, according to Dr.Donna Cohen, a professor of agingand mental health at the Universityof South Florida.

Homicide-suicides are tragiclethal events, where a perpetrator,usually a man, kills a victim(s), usu-

ally a wife or family member, beforecommitting suicide within minutesor hours. We do not know exactlyhow many occur each year in theUnited States because there is nosingle nationally recognized data col-

lection system for homicide-suicides.Experts estimate that they accountfor about 1,500 deaths a year, a mor-

tality similar to meningitis andtuberculosis.

A recent newspaper study of 660homicide-suicides in the UnitedStates over a three-year period from1997-99 showed that almost 25% ofall of these events occurred inFlorida. The study was conductedby Dr. Cohen, whose research hasalso shown that the rate for homi-cide-suicide in Florida's older popu-lation is two times higher than therate for the younger population. Thenumber of homicide-suicides in theyoung is higher than in the old, how-

ever, because there are moreyounger persons in the population.Of the 160 homicide-suicides inFlorida from 1997-98, one-third were

perpetrated by persons 55 years orolder, most of whom were men, andthey involved 64 victims. Two-thirds

were perpetrated by persons underage 55, also mostly men, and theyinvolved 121 victims.

Almost all homicide-suicidesoccur within the context of the fam-

ily. And, while they may involvechildren, most involve only one vic-tim. The most common form isspousaVconsortial homicide-suicide.In the Florida newspaper sampling,75% of the old homicide-suicidecases and 60% of the young homi-cide-suicide cases involved spousesor intimates. Although 80% of theolder victims were 55 and older, 10%were 18 or younger. Almost one-third of the victims of perpetratorsunder 55 were 18 or younger, and3% were 55 or older.

Homicide-suicides are humantragedies for family members andothers who witness them. However,there are very few resources forintervention. Dr. Cohen and herteam have developed a website athttp//www. fmhi. usf. edu/amh/ homi-

cide-suicide/index. html with re-sources for law enforcement officersduring the investigation as well asvictim advocates supporting familysurvivors.

The website describes a Vio-lence and Injury Prevention Pro-gram at the University of SouthFlorida headed by Dr. Cohen. Itcontains several articles in bothEnglish and Spanish that can beprinted and given to family mem-bers. One practical article describeswhat to do when a relative commitsa homicide-suicide: talking withlaw enforcement officers, identifyingthe bodies, dealing with the media,visiting the crime scene, having thecrime scene cleaned, preparing forthe funeral, dealing with family andfriends who want to help, andwhere to get help to deal with theemotional aftermath.

Although homicide-suicides arerare relative to individual events ofhomicide or suicide, they usuallycause traumatic stress in surviving

family and intimates, and theyhave profound effects on the com-munities where they occur.

The information on the websitegives family members and otherswho witness the scene a resourcefor support after the investigationis completed and they resume theirlives. There are stories from familymembers who have survived ahomicide-suicide, links to sites thatmay help families find information,support groups, mental healthresources, as well as other informa-tion. Family members are usuallyunprepared for the traumaticstress of the horrible event, andtheir lives are changed in manyways for a long time because theybecome co-victims of a sudden vio-lent event. The website is intendedto help them understand what hashappened, to deal with their grief,and find help to rebuild their lives.

The website also containsinformation, again in English andSpanish, about the prevention ofhomicide-suicides in older persons.Although these circumstancesappear to be a surprise when theyoccur, Dr. Cohen's analysis of over1000 cases suggests that most per-petrators have thought about theact and planned it. That meansthat there is a window of opportu-nity to try to prevent them.

Information on the websitedescribes the different types ofhomicide-suicides, clues to look for,and what to do. Domestic violenceis a common factor in younger per-sons who commit homicide-suicide,and it occurs in about one-third ofhomicide-suicides in the old. Theinformation currently on the web-site can be distributed to commu-nity groups working with lawenforcement agencies. In thefuture, information for law enforce-ment officers, clinicians, and otherprofessionals will be added.

Ed. Note: Thanks to Dr. DonnaCohen for supplying this story.

10

The 3% RetirementSaga Continues

There is another in a long line ofinteresting legislative battles in theworks this year, the results of which

will surely not be known until thefinal gavel of the 2001 Florida Leg-islative Session is over on May 4.

For those of you that don't knowthe issue, here it is in a nutshell.

Members of Special Risk Class ofthe Florida Retirement System (FRS)accrue "credit" towards their retire-ment at the rate of 3% of averagefinal compensation for each year theyworked while as a member of SpecialRisk. In plain language, that meansthat, for example, a deputy sheriff,state trooper, or correctional officerwith 25 years of service in SpecialRisk class would be paid 25 years X3% per year, or 75% of average theirfinal compensation in their retire-ment years.

However, back in 1978, the FRSfell upon hard financial times. Whenthat happened, they tried to figure away out. So, in the middle of many alaw enforcement and correctionalofficer's career, the legislature unilat-

erally changed the accrual rate to 2%per year. It didn't matter at thetime, that thousands of people haddecades of service under their belt at3%...that was over at the stroke of apen.

Then, in the early 1990's, FRSagain became solvent, and in gradu-ated fashion, the legislature slowly

crept the rate back to 3% over thestretch of a few years. But thenearly 13 years of reduced benefitwould result in an almost 13% reduc-

tion in benefits for all Special Riskmembers, depending upon how manyof those years they were a part of thesystem.

During the 2000 legislative ses-sion, with the support of Governor

Jeb Bush, Comptroller Bob Milliganand Treasurer Bill Nelson, the legis-lature made things right and rein-stated that lost 1% for all thoseyears, PROVIDED you had not yetjoined DROP or filed for retirement.

So, lots of folks wound up realhappy. But, many were rightfullyfeeling slighted. After all, theywere still alive, and they, too,worked some or all of those years inSpecial Risk. Why, they argued,shouldn't they also receive the rein-stated benefit?

In recent meetings of the FloridaSheriffs Association, the sheriffs ofFlorida unanimously voted to makereinstatement of those benefits forthe DROP members and retirees astheir 41 legislative priority for 2001.

Notwithstanding that fact, itwill be an uphill battle the wholeway, because there are those onFlorida's capitol hill that want totake the current surplus in FRS, andchip away at that surplus bydecreasing the contribution rates

IIV BRIEF

Panama City —Lt. Bob Smith of theMarion County SherifFs Office wasnamed the "Professional EmergencyManager of the Year" by the FloridaEmergency Preparedness Associa-tion at their statewide conference inJanuary. Also honored were Lt.Phil Rivers and Robby Powers of theLeon County Sheriff s Office. Bothwere certified by FEPA as "Profes-sional Emeregency Managers. "

Tampa —Hillsborough Sheriff CalHenderson and Col. David Parrish,the commander of HCSO's jail hasdone something that will surelymake working at their jail muchmore appealing to many. They areplanning to build a child care centernear the jail, to be run by a privatecompany, that will house the depen-

that are being paid in for those ofyou that are currently working inan FRS covered slot.

Cutting contribution rates willmake county commissioners andcounty school systems happy, forthey can reduce the amount thatthey budget for such expenses. Atthe same time, though, the STATEalso feathers its' own nest by cuttingthe amount that THEY would needto contribute to FRS for currentstate employees.

Battle lines are being drawn.As I write, the lobbyists for theFlorida Sheriffs Association haveteamed up with the Florida PoliceChiefs Association; the PBA, FOPand Professional Firefighters ofFlorida, all of whom have con-stituencies that will benefit, shouldthis reinstatement happen for theremainder of the people thatdeserve it.

We' ll keep you posted.

dent children of correctionalemployees while they work at thejail facility, probably on a 24-hourbasis. High turnover and costlytraining of new employees forcedjail officials to rethink and employstrategies that will encourageemployees to stay on board. Themoney to build the center will comefrom the federal reimbursementthat the county is paid to house ille-

gal aliens.

Tallahassee —A bill that wouldhave required all law enforcementofficers in Florida hired after 2005to hold at least a 2-year degree hasbeen withdrawn from further con-sideration. While voicing supportfor increased training and educa-tion, many sheriffs felt that thesmaller agencies would sufferextreme hardship trying to attractand retain only college graduates.

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Rodney L. Vizzo namedTramc Officer of the Year

Jacksonville — Martin CountyDeputy Rodney L. Vizzo has beennamed Florida's Traffic Officer of theYear by IPTM. A member of MartinCounty S.O.'s TraffiIJDUI Unit since

1995, he is a 3-time recipient of theMADD 100+ DUI award, and he hasdeveloped a 90-minute safety pro-gram for the local schools in MartinCounty. He's also a member of theBPOE, and is involved in their pro-grams like the Florida Elks Chil-dren's Hospital and Youth Camp.

Second place went to DeputyBrian Brady of Broward Sheriff'sOffice. Brian is assigned to patrol,but he dedicates much of his time totraffic-related functions in the Cityof Tamarac, where his lives andworks. He's a volunteer coach inmany of Tamarac's sports leagues,and he's a role model for every single

youngster he meets.Third place went to Deputy

Robert Wagner of Brevard County.A member of Brevard's force for 14years, he has been assigned to theSpecial DUI Unit since January1999. As of September 2000, Wag-ner made over 100 DUI arrests andissued some 766 uniform traffic cita-tions. He has been recognized forthe past 5 years as a member of the

MADD 100+ DUI club. He's also anactive member of the U.S. Air ForceReserve.

Jimmy Ryce Law EnforcementTraining Center

The Jimmy Ryce Law Enforce-ment Training Center (JRLETC) is atraining and technical assistancefacility in Washington, D.C. TheOffice of Juvenile Justice and Delin-

quency Prevention (OJJDP), theNational Center for Missing andExploited Children (NCMEC), andthe Federal Bureau of Investigationconduct a two-day seminar at theJRLETC that deals with missingchildren issues. More specifically,the seminar concentrates on coordi-

nation and policy concerns, compre-hensive response protocol, liabilityissues, Federal resources that areavailable to assist law enforcement,and the new NCIC flagging system.

This seminar is ~restric d to poi-

icy level law enforcement executives.The cost of the seminar, lodging, air-fare, and most meals will be reim-bursed to those who attend. Theseminar begins on a Sunday andconcludes on a Monday. The datesof the upcoming seminars are as fol-

lows: April 22-23, May 6-7, andJune 10-11,2001.

The State of Florida takes issues

relating to children very seriously.Attendance at this seminar isencouraged to better protect our chil-

dren. If you work investigatingmissing persons, please take amoment to speak with a policy-maker within your agency about theimportance of these cases, and askhim or her to consider attending thiscourse.

If you have any questions or areinterested in attending the course,please contact Catherine Eremita ofthe NCMEC at (703) 837-6348, or e-mail her at: ceremita@ncmec. org

A cruel rite of initiation?In 1971, I was working at Lee

County S.O. in Fort Myers as a dis-patcher. Gil Kerlikowske workedthere as a civilian crime scene tech.

Gil was just appointed policechief of Seattle, WA. And over arecent 3-day stretch, Seattle had 2days of Mardi Gras riots, followed byan earthquake on the third day.

Gil sent me an e-mail followingthe quake that said, "This has beenthe most interesting week of myentire police career. .." I'll bet it has.

Tom Berlinger, Editor

FLORIDA SHERIFFS ASSOCIATIONTallahassee, FL 32317-2519

Return Service requested

NONPROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

TALLAHASSEE, FLPERMIT NO. 94

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