Priorities
  1. Continue to focus on creating an environment that facilitates the pursuit of excellence in the delivery of law enforcement services especially the treatment of all of our citizens with dignity and respect.
  2. Continue to focus on ensuring the safety of all of our citizens especially the most vulnerable, our children and senior citizens.
  3. Continue to focus on increased traffic enforcement, especially speeding and drinking and driving. Also, work to solve the many traffic related problems that affect our community.
  4. Continue to focus on providing effective youth resources and programs for the children in our community
  5. Continue to focus on quality of life issues including things like excessive noise and disturbances in our residential neighborhoods.
  6. Continue to focus on ensuring that we embrace the tenets of fiscal discipline.
Additional Priorities
Our primary focus during the next few years will be:
  1. A stand alone, inter-operable 800mhz county wide radio system that all entities of local government will be able to use.
  2. Embrace “Lean Management” and “Quality Concepts” that will allow us to continue to perform our core function in an environment of rapidly declining resources.
Programs
 During the 2004 election cycle I proposed many programs that I said I would implement if elected. Below is a list of those programs and their status:
  1. Completed:
    “Senior Citizens Service Center”     - I will design and implement a functional area within the Sheriff’s Office dedicated to serving our ever-increasing population of senior citizens in St. Johns County. Senior citizens are the people that have made our Nation, State and County great and we cannot forget the sacrifices they have made. Our senior citizens have special needs and the Senior Citizens Service Center will work with our senior citizens in the areas of elderly abuse and exploitation. Additionally, the center will serve as a critical link between our senior citizens and other agencies that can offer them assistance. The center will design and implement methodologies to check up on our senior citizens and keep them informed on issues of interest to them.

  2. Completed:
    “Countywide “e-alert” and “reverse 911” program”     – I will implement a program that automatically sends out information over the internet (e-alert) and telephones (reverse 911) to all of our residents who wish to participate. The information disseminated will consist of press releases, crime bulletins, emergency preparedness information, severe weather alerts, street closings and other items of interests.

  3. Completed:
    “Teen Driver Education Program”     – I will design and implement a program for our teenage drivers. This program will focus on driver education with an emphasis on defensive driving and situational awareness. Additionally, I will implement a methodology that will require automatic parental notification in the event that a teenager receives a traffic citation or comes to the attention of law enforcement due to any motor vehicle related incident. The notification portion of this program will only be available if the parent requests it.

  4. Completed:
    “Civilian Law Enforcement Academy”     – I will design and implement a program open to all of our citizens that allow them to participate in and graduate from a “civilian law enforcement academy”. The purpose of the academy will be to familiarize our citizens with the rigors of police work and to foster understanding and communication between the law enforcement community and our citizens. This has been an extremely effective program in other jurisdictions.

  5. Completed:
    “Internship and Mentor Program”     – I will invite local high school and college students to intern at the Sheriff’s Office and to work in areas they are interested in professionally i.e. communications, training, operations etc. Students will be paid a stipend and this program can be used for college credit. I will also implement a “mentorship” program.

  6. Completed:
    “Annual Report to the Public”     – On an annual basis I will provide all of our citizens with a Sheriff’s Office “Annual Report” for their review. This report will focus on the department’s priorities and discuss current law enforcement issues facing our residents. Additionally, the report will provide a synopsis of the accomplishments of the preceding year and goals and objectives for the upcoming year.

  7. Completed:
    “Coffee and Walks with your Sheriff”     – Once a month I will have coffee at various locations throughout the County and invite our residents to visit with me to discuss any items of mutual interest. In the spring and fall of each year I will walk through different neighborhoods in our County to visit and meet with our residents.

  8. In Progress:
    “Sheriff’s Advisory Councils”     – I will form the County into various regions and ask a limited number of our citizens to participate on a Sheriff’s Advisory Council for each region. These advisory councils will meet once a quarter and will receive information concerning the latest efforts of the Sheriff’s Office. Most importantly, we will receive feedback and advice from our citizens on how we can improve our delivery of services in their communities. This will be an effective platform for residents to communicate concerns and issues as they relate to the Sheriff’s Office. In order to maximize synergy, we will seek citizens of diverse backgrounds to serve on the Sheriff’s Advisory Councils.

  9. Not Completed:
    “Traffic Enforcement and Engineering Task Force”     – Most law enforcement agencies have “traffic units” that are charged with enforcing traffic laws and investigating accidents. This task force will perform these traditional functions but additionally will seek unique solutions to problems such as traffic gridlock and excessive speed in our residential neighborhoods. The task force will use a macro approach to solving traffic concerns including the assessment of the effectiveness of our current traffic engineering.