FSAcast

In this episode, FSA speaks with the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) Executive Director Chuck Wexler at their Annual Meeting in Orlando. Chuck led a lively town hall with sheriffs and police chiefs, and we discuss the various topics that were covered; from staffing and the use of civilian personnel to reducing violent crime in our communities.  We learn about the history of PERF and how the...

In this episode, FSA speaks with Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez from the Police Executive Research Forum's (PERF) Annual Meeting in Orlando. During the meeting, Sheriff Gonzalez was awarded the PERF Leadership Award for his outstanding public safety work in the Houston area. First elected sheriff in 2016, Sheriff Gonzalez runs the largest sheriff's office in Texas. He directs more than 5,000 em...

In this episode, FSA speaks with Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford.  Sheriff Ford was first elected sheriff in 2016 and has been a leader in addressing numerous public safety issues in the panhandle. Early on in his first term, Sheriff Ford had to respond to the devastation of Hurricane Michael. Hear about the lessons learned from that tragedy and how he has taken on the role of chairing the FSA Task...

In this episode, FSA speaks with Alachua County Sheriff Emery Gainey.  A veteran of the Office who began his career in 1982, he rose through the ranks holding leadership positions in numerous areas of the sheriff's office operations.  Then, after a 25-year career with the sheriff's office, Sheriff Gainey became the Director of Law Enforcement & Victim Services for three Florida Attorneys General a...

In this episode, FSA speaks with Citrus County Sheriff Mike Prendergast, who has served his country in the U.S. Army, his state as the executive director of the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs and now the citizens of Citrus County as their elected sheriff.  We talk about how those life experiences helped shape his service as sheriff as well as the numerous leadership roles he has accepted w...

In this episode, FSA speaks with Gulf County Sheriff Mike Harrison. First elected sheriff in 2012, Sheriff Harrison serves as a member of FSA's important Legislative Committee and on the association's Board of Directors. Hear about Sheriff Harrison's past experiences in law enforcement and how it has shaped his work in Gulf County, a special place in the panhandle that is a pleasant place to live,...

In this episode, FSA speaks with Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters, who was recently elected sheriff after serving the people of Duval County for more than 30 years. Before being elected sheriff, he worked in the county jail then graduated from the police academy and rose through the ranks working in numerous capacities within the agency's major departments of Patrol & Enforcement and Homeland Secu...

In this episode, FSA visits with the former Sheriff of Jacksonville Nat Glover. Sheriff Glover recently published a book entitled, " Striving for Justice: A Black Sheriff in the Deep South ." We discussed his long and distinguished law enforcement career that culminated with him being elected sheriff in 1995. Sheriff Glover was the first Black sheriff elected in the state of Florida in over 100 ye...

In this episode, FSA talks to Zack Smith, co-author of the recent book Rogue Prosecutors: How Radical Soros Lawyers are Destroying America's Communities.  Zack is a Legal Fellow at The Heritage Foundation and previously served for several years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Northern District of Florida.  We visited with Zack after his presentation to the sheriffs at our Winter Conf...

In the final episode for the 2024 session, FSA sits down with House Majority Leader Representative Michael Grant. Leader Grant served as Majority Leader for two House Speakers, and he explains to us what the Majority Leader must do to ensure a successful legislative session for all members. We end with summarizing all the public safety wins sheriffs achieved during this session. Spoiler alert: Lot...

In this episode, FSA provides a Week 8 legislative recap. With one week left, the House and Senate spent most of the week on the floor or in budget conferencing meetings. We highlight those budget discussions and focus on the new recurring funding the Florida Department of Corrections will receive for maintenance and building repairs. We also provide updates on the status of the Florida Sheriffs A...

In this episode, FSA provides a Week 7 legislative recap. This week we highlight HB 1 and why sheriffs support this social media bill's passage into law. House Speaker Paul Renner recently stated HB 1 is the most important measure Florida can take to empower parents and save children from irreparable harm of the addictive features employed by many social media platforms. We also have Santa Rosa Co...

In this episode, FSA speaks with Congresswoman Laurel Lee who proudly represents the 15 th Congressional District of Florida, which encompasses eastern Hillsborough County as well as parts of Pasco and Polk counties. Congresswoman Lee highlights the work she is doing during her first term in the U.S. House of Representatives to protect our nation from threats both abroad and at home. Prior to her...

In this episode, FSA provides a Week 5 legislative recap. It's the halfway point of the 60-day legislative session, and FSA's priority legislation on juvenile justice as well as school safety continues to move ahead. We hear from FSA's Legislative Chair Sheriff Bob Gualtieri on why these bills are important as he testifies in committee. We also sit down with Erin Rock of The Southern Group and cov...

On this special 100 th episode of FSAcast, we talk to Hamilton County Sheriff Harrell Reid, the Dean of the Florida Sheriffs. First elected in 1988, Sheriff Reid talks about his distinguished law enforcement career and highlights what he has seen over his nine terms as sheriff. We also discuss what makes Hamilton County a special place to live and work. As the Dean of the Florida Sheriffs, Sheriff...

In this episode, FSA provides a Week 3 legislative recap. We discuss the status of several FSA priority bills and then sit down with Lt. Abby Hilley and Lt. Eloilda "Ellie" Shea of the Orange County Sheriff's Office. We discuss their careers and work as part of the Legislative Affairs Team at the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

In this episode, FSA provides a Week 2 legislative recap by discussing the status of several of the sheriffs' top legislative priorities and how they are progressing early on in session. Then FSA's Director of Communications Logan Lewkow sits down with FSA President Sheriff Bill Leeper of Nassau County to discuss his busy day at the state Capitol. They talk about the work sheriffs are doing to com...

In this episode, FSA provides a Week 1 legislative recap by discussing the Governor's State of the State address. St. Johns County Sheriff Rob Hardwick is also the guest of House Speaker Paul Renner for the first day of session where he is recognized as the Law Enforcement Officer of the Day.  We then sit down with Senator Tom Wright to discuss what he is working on for the 2024 session to help su...

In this episode, FSA provides a preview of the 2024 legislative session. We discuss the sheriffs' legislative priorities and how they are working to ensure another successful public safety session for Florida. We then sit down with two of FSA's contracted lobbyists, Angela Drzewiecki of GrayRobinson and Jennifer Green of Liberty Partners.  Angela and Jennifer offer key insights and what we can exp...

Episode 95: Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Ricky Dixon In this episode, FSA speaks with Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Ricky Dixon, who oversees the largest state agency with more than 23,000 employees. We discuss how this agency keeps our communities safe by securely confining violent criminals in prison, but also how they monitor offenders in our communities who are on...

In this episode, FSA speaks with George Schein, the Technical Director of Advanced Consulting Group with Nationwide Retirement Group. What is Secure 2.0? Why is important to you?  How can saving more money sooner help in your retirement, no matter how old you are today? George has advised both for-profit and not-for-profit employers as an employee benefits attorney in private practice for over a d...

In this episode, FSA speaks with trust strategist and body language expert Pamela Barnum. A former undercover police officer, federal prosecutor and now national public speaker, Pamela was a keynote presenter during the Sheriffs' Executive Leadership Conference about ways we can all do a better job of building trust. She has spoken in front of audiences ranging from 50 to 12,000 in the United Stat...

In this episode, FSA speaks with Orange County Sheriff John Mina, who was first elected sheriff in 2018 and then reelected in 2020. Before being elected sheriff, he had a 27-year career with the Orlando Police Department, culminating with being Chief of Police.  Orange County is the fifth-most populous county in the state and had more than 74 million travelers from around the world visit last year...

In this episode, FSA addresses the issue of our nation's opioid epidemic. T he number of drug overdose deaths increased more than 16% from 2020 to 2021, and last year over 75% of the nearly 107,000 drug overdose deaths involved an opioid. To help solve this problem, Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma has established a holistic approach, and he and his team shared their insights during a panel di...

In this episode, FSA addresses the issue of cybersecurity.  Ransomware attacks on public institutions have risen sharply in recent years.   On April 7, 2023, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department in California discovered they were victims of a hack, and it forced the department to temporarily shut down some of its computer systems. During the Major County Sheriffs of America's Fall Confer...