Welcome to The Gadsden County Sheriff Department!!

Sheriff Morris A. Young writes a letter to the citizens outlining the hurdles and accomplishments of 2006-2007.

To The Citizens of Gadsden County: When I campaigned to become your sheriff, I promised that the Gadsden County Sheriff's Office would be administered fairly and transparently. Nothing hidden and nothing concealed. This is the onset of a series of letters, directly from my desk, that will inform you of the progress as well as the hurdles that the Gadsden County Sheriff's Office face as we strive to provide professional and progressive law enforcement services. In this letter to you, I will focus on law enforcement services, the county jail, the budget and how each entity impacts you.

The Gadsden County Sheriff's Office covers 516 square miles of territory which includes three bodies of water, two major highways and a major interstate. In the past two years, weve seen unprecedented growth in population with the addition of several new sub-divisions. In the 2006 U.S. Census Bureau, Gadsden County's population was estimated at 46,658. This number directly impact services and how they are administered. From 2002-2005 the Gadsden County Sheriff's Office responded to 174,160 calls for service. In 2006, deputies responded to 64,099 calls for service and from January 2007 to July 9th, 2007, deputies have responded to 39,006 calls. According to our communications director, we are well on the way of exceeding 60,000 calls for service for the year 2007. This response effort was accomplished with only twenty three deputies. In which, shifts are further broken into four to five deputies per twelve hour shift. The deputies serve in various capacities including back-up to EMS. Additionally, they transport inmates, serve documents, assist the Florida Highway Patrol and our local municipal police departments.

Currently, we have 4,600 open warrants for arrest for people who are still walking around in our communities. From October 2006 until June 2007, 2,658 inmates were received at the Gadsden County Jail and during this same reporting period 279 inmates were arrested for violent crimes. The men and women that make up the patrol division have given their best at continuing to provide adequate and professional services to you, despite their low wages. Since I took office, I have hired a number of deputies who have the education and training necessary to apply to higher paying agencies. Last year alone, I gave every employee, with the exception of senior command staff, a 7% pay increase but that still left us behind in competitive wages for sworn employees. This yields a high turnover rate in sworn personnel that can leave us short staffed and cause a tremendous strain on services, for example call-time response.

In the 2005-2006 budget year, we managed to stay within budget due to micro-management of spending and cutting overtime to employees. Adhering to recommendations of our audit firm and putting these measures in place lead to a successful audit and regulated spending. Still, the eight-man investigative unit managed to solve ten homicides in 2005 and most of 2006 by sacrifice and dedication. This feat was accomplished without members of the unit receiving a penny of overtime simply because we could not afford the cost. In 2006, we reported to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations Uniform Crime Report, that our investigative unit had investigated 25 forcible sexual offenses, 17 robberies, 205 aggravated assaults and 305 burglaries. During this current reporting period we have seen a sharp increase in sexual offenses and burglaries.

When we started the current fiscal year of 2006-2007, I refuse to worry about budget concerns, as it relates to overtime and allowed sworn staff the privilege of receiving overtime due to low wages. Deputies told me that they are willing to do the work as long as they can be compensated. That, to me, is dedication. As we approach the new fiscal year, I am still looking at ways to increase wages and will continue as I, too, was once was a deputy and understand what it is to receive a low wage. As many of you may not know, the bulk of the Sheriff's budget is used to maintain the county jail and the inmates housed there. The county jail is actually the responsibility of the County Commission, but many sheriffs throughout the state run the jail for their commissions, respectively. Since I took office, during the period from 2003 until the present, 11, 357 inmates have been taken in at the county jail. Of that number, 792 of have been sent to the Florida Department of Corrections and 935 were arrested for violent crimes. The county jail was constructed only to hold 157 inmates. Currently, the number fluctuates from 220 to 230 with it previously being as high as 257. With no increase in staff (coupled with the hurdle of low wages), the issue of staff turnover remains. I have proposed several options to the County Commission in an effort to highlight the issues associated with the jail. One suggestion of note would be to convert the multi-purpose room to house female inmates. This option would allow for a greater capacity to hold male inmates in the cell currently occupied by the females. The cost of this project would be $20,000.00 with the use of inmate labor from the Florida Department of Corrections. This option is still in the proposal phase.

Inmates are required by law to receive meals that meet dietary needs and medical attention. These costs alone are astronomical! The cost of feeding inmates over the last five years (2003 to present) amounted to $1,210,014.00. Medical costs seem to rise each year, especially with special needs medication (i.e. AIDS, TB, diabetics, psycho tropics and pregnant inmates) being the most costly. The cost of medical attention from 2003 until the present is $744,590.00. This number would have been easily in the millions if staff had not recognized the sharp increase in medications and recommended a change in the pharmaceutical company. This alone saved us around $100,000.00 yearly. Theses numbers don't reflect the impact of overtime for detention deputies who have to be present when inmates are transported to the hospital by ambulance, attend regularly scheduled medical appointments and remain overnight in the hospital. In conclusion, I wanted to help you understand the hurdles we face as well as the accomplishments that were made despite budgetary circumstances. The men and women of the Gadsden County Sheriff's Office are proud, dedicated and hardworking people. Despite low wages, the hazards of the job and sometimes adverse conditions they manage to get the job done effectively and professionally. Many times I have put on my uniform and worked a shift due to shift shortages; therefore, I understand what it is they are faced with on a daily basis. I will continue to fight for competitive wages and an increase operational funding without compromising professional service that I have set as the standard at the Gadsden County Sheriffs Office. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my employees for their dedication and unwavering loyalty and to the citizens of Gadsden County for their undying support in our efforts to make your community safe and enjoyable. Humbly Submitted, Morris A. Young Gadsden County Sheriff