|
This is a political advertisement paid for and approved by Sandra Downs (NPA) for Sheriff. |
 |
|
My Decision to Run for Sheriff |
|
|
|
I decided to run for Sheriff of
Monroe County because it has been said over and over to me that it
is the most powerful position in Monroe County. I do not seek the
power, but instead want to return it to the citizens where it
rightfully belongs. The Sheriff is elected to run the Department to serve the citizens. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Department is everybody’s business, because they pay for it. It is not a private company where you hire your friends and create jobs for them with taxpayer money, but this has been done here in Monroe County. One of my main objectives as Sheriff would be to install a Citizens Review Board (CRB) over the entire department, from the Sheriff down. I think that Key West has set a precedent in that this is absolutely necessary and appreciated by the citizens. I would seek this as Sheriff as a first priority. Currently the only oversight is Internal Affairs. The Internal Affairs Director, Lt. Cindy Peryam is in charge of investigating citizen’s complaints against deputies, as well as investigating internal problems. Her husband, Bob Peryam is a Captain with MCSO and a candidate for Sheriff. It seems implausible that Lt. Cindy Peryam could carry out these very serious duties of unbiased investigating with her husband’s interests first and foremost in her mind. Cindy Peryam’s leadership role in Internal Affairs has been a major factor in wreaking havoc with Justice both for the officers within the department and the citizens outside. With an average of only 20 investigations per year, it is hard to comprehend why an assistant was hired for Cindy Peryam at the same time Sheriff Roth was cutting school resource officers. A Citizen’s Review Board would allow oversight, as well as eliminate the need for 4 high salaried personnel currently employed in Internal Affairs. The voters want transparency, and Capt. Bob Peryam has not been forthright in describing his wife’s position with the Sheriff’s Department. This does not speak well of his own honesty and transparency with the public. I know the budget for the Sheriff’s Office needs to be looked at carefully and whatever can go back into the pay of the necessary personnel and the community programs must be done. I want to see more positive involvement between the deputies and the citizens, particularly the youth. I would like to set up interactive programs in an effort to get the citizens more involved with the Sheriff’s Department. The Sheriff’s Department can only be successful if it works with the citizens to reduce crime, not against them. My goal would be that not one of our youngsters was ever lost to drugs or violence. I would like to see all youth start their road to adulthood with no criminal record. My goal would be to help educate and encourage them by offering innovative programs that reward them for success. One such program exists “Keys Cops for Kids". We need many more like it. These programs need our involvement and assistance in order to be successful. I want to address the jail situation as well. There is a huge need to remove the violent offenders from the non-violent. I don’t think rape in our jail, as what recently occurred is acceptable. And I think it could have been prevented if procedural rules would have been followed. I have screamed and complained of these exact jail procedure violations for over 3 years to Sheriff Roth, Cindy Peryam, the jail administrators (Rayette Avael and Tommy Taylor), FDLE, the Governor, Department of Justice, the Attorney General. FBI, and Mark Kohl State Attorney. I had meetings and provided evidence. They all ignored my pleas to get the jail on track. By Internal Affairs Director Cindy Peryam’s own written account, she destroyed evidence of abuse inside the jails by shredding the documents before they were scanned into the system! I believe this is a felony offense. **A page on my website describes the illegal detentions, procedural violations and felony offenses that happened inside the MCSO adult jail on Stock Island in January of 2005. It is called “My Experience with Injustice.” Coincidentally, this is the page that was hacked and removed the day prior to the Rape in the same jail making front page of the Citizen January 24th of this year. I want more rehab programs for the addicts in the jail. I want to try and curb the rate of re-incarcerations. I think with the proper help many of these addicts can recover and once again contribute to the community in a positive way. I would like to see more work programs so that inmates can contribute during their incarceration. I want to make sure that no juvenile is held in the adult jail. And I would fight to have the juveniles tried as juveniles. The laws and standards regarding incarceration need to be adhered to. These are very strict and our jails are not meeting the guidelines. Education of the staff is the first step to the remedy. Juvenile rights are as important as adults, and in the Keys that has not been the norm for too long. Law Enforcement personnel need better training so they will know how to make a proper arrest if and when they need to do so. There should be complete knowledge of the laws protecting the civil rights of citizens. I would seek a much higher standard in educating the Sheriff’s deputies and their superiors. If an arrest is made it should be legal, without abuse or mistake. The arrest should be able to stand up in a court of law and not have to depend on a plea bargain to not be dismissed. If the laws of arrest are adhered to, we can save a tremendous amount of money that is currently being paid out in settlements. There are many problems I am aware of that are truly desperate within the department. I will make it possible for you to understand why I state this if you can find the time to read my pages. Thank you for visiting, and I hope you will vote for me. You are the reason I am running. You asked for a candidate that wasn’t caught up in the Bubba System. I am "she". Thank you in advance. |
|
|
