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This is a political advertisement paid for and approved by Sandra Downs (NPA) for Sheriff. |
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IN A REAL SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT |
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COMMITMENT The officers on our streets put their lives on the line for the citizens they serve. They know full well when they choose this line of work, that it poses many hazards. Many choose this line of work because of the honor of it, or because of their commitment to the community to keep it safe. Whatever the reason, it can’t be ignored that the pay never compensates for the risks. CONFIDENCE A job with the police or sheriff is usually considered a career job. The pay is presumably decent with benefits and retirement. There is job security and camaraderie amongst the deputies. The support they need is always there when trouble arises on the streets. The deputies are confident and well trained, and fully prepared to meet any kind of crisis. CONSIDERATION Their superiors are honest and fair and well thought of. The promotions are awarded to the deserving candidates through non discriminatory evaluations. Honesty, dedication, and integrity are given much consideration. The deputy’s safety is top priority. Their families are valued and provided for in every way possible. CONSERVATION The budget is balanced with the majority of the pay going to the deputies in uniform. Patrol cars are up to date with modern equipment and trained personnel to service it. Education is current and ongoing for every employee. A close association with the citizens exists and many functions set up to ensure their participation with their Sheriff’s Department and personnel. The citizens are respected and it is always kept in mind that we work for them, and our pay comes from them. In times of hardship, we take less and give more.
HOW DO WE GET THERE? BY SOLVING OUR PROBLEMS! Our Sheriff Department has approximately 600 employees. Of these approximately 10% are active on the streets enforcing our laws. Of these 60 deputies approximately 10 are assigned to Ocean Reef where they provide little more than asset protection to homeowners who have their own security force. We have less than 50 deputies patrolling all the rest of the Keys. In 8 hour shifts, we have 1 deputy for every 20 miles. That is unacceptable. Roughly 41 million dollars of budget and this is all that is delivered to the Monroe County citizens. The turnover rate is too high; out of 600 employees only 180 MCSO personnel have been there for 10 years or more. Of these 180 veterans, only 53 of these veterans are in our substations or patrolling. Of these 53 veterans, 5 sit behind desks. The majority of the remaining employees are working at the jail, school crossings, the courthouse, or at the Headquarters. The MCSO is overstaffed at the top, and understaffed on the streets. I want to put 2 deputies in each patrol car to provide for more safety for them. I want the patrol cars active, not setting at homes. It is a convenient way to fool the public when the cars are being driven home that there are more active personnel on our streets. But we pay for this, and it is an illusion only, and provides no safety at a great cost. I support the unions. In this day of worker lay-offs, job insecurity, and terminations before retirement, the common man needs all of the support he can get to maintain his pay, his benefits, and fairness in the workplace. I would not only work with the unions, but all the personnel to make sure they had security and could depend on their job to be there for them as they were there for us. I would implement better hiring practices, only hiring who was needed. I would gain credibility as an employer that offered a career job, instead of hiring and firing at leisure as seems to be the practice at MCSO. The overstaffing problem would be solved immediately as I would terminate every position that was unnecessary, concentrating on the assistant positions and the top heavy high-end salaried upper management itself. The revenue generated would go to the lowest paid uniformed officers first and the rest would be used for training and to implement interactive programs for youth. The helicopter is still in review for me, as I want to make sure in the event of a Hurricane, we would not be ill advised to get rid of it. I would guarantee that other alternatives were available in an emergency before I took that step, as the necessity was evident for rescue in Hurricane Katrina. Should we ever be faced with a predicament like that, I’m sure you’d agree the lives saved would be worth every penny spent. |
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