Dear Citizens,

It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as your elected Sheriff over the past 3 ½ years. During the election campaign of 2004, I made several promises to you, promises that I am very proud to say have been fulfilled.

This is the part of the letter where I am supposed to take credit for the significant accomplishments the Sheriffs Office has achieved since 2005, but in good conscience I cannot do that. The truth is, the real credit belongs to the efforts of the 1,400 wonderful and caring professionals that make up your Sheriff’s Office.

When you look at quality of our employees, their character, their work ethic and their dedication to public service, it is easy to understand how we have had so much success in such a short time. They are without a doubt, our most valuable asset. So as I point out these accomplishments, please keep in mind that it as been a total team effort between all of the employees of the Sheriff’s Office and you the citizens. For without your support, none of this success would have been possible.

We took office in January 2005 and quickly discovered that the agency was very top heavy with management and support staff. Conversely, there weren’t enough Patrol Deputies on the street or 911 Communication officers answering 911 calls. We quickly restructured the agency, eliminated and downgraded about 20 management and support staff positions. By doing so, we were able to save approximately 1 million dollars.

We then used that savings to hire 15 new Patrol Deputies and 8 new 911 Communications Officers. Additionally, we identified 15 Deputies who were performing administrative/support functions and moved them to operational positions that directly serve the citizens, such as patrol. As a result, Brevard County residents now benefit from the services of thirty-eight additional, essential positions without having to pay any additional taxes.

Our biggest challenge when we first took office in 2005 was the severely neglected and over-crowded County Jail. Brevard County’s population had surged to over 500,000 in the past decade, but no new jail construction had taken place to meet growing needs of our Community. As a result, your Brevard County jail became by many accounts, the most overcrowded and most dangerous jail in the State of Florida. The jail was in crisis.

The jail had 1,041 beds but needed at least 700 more to keep the criminals in jail and off of our streets. As a result of that shortage, inmates were released back to the streets earlier than they should have been resulting in many of them reoffending by committing new crimes. The situation had to be corrected quickly.

The Board of County Commissioners conducted a study which concluded there was an immediate need to build 500 beds at a cost of 43 million dollars. We knew there were two problems with this plan. First, it did not give us enough beds, and second, it was too expensive placing a large burden on taxpayers.

Our challenge…How do we get more beds for less than half the cost? We came up with an alternative plan for the Commissioners to consider which included the use of 4 new large tents that would hold 400 inmates, a new 346 bed Mental Health / Medical dormitory (to reduce jail suicides), and expansions to food services, laundry, and booking areas. The plan would add more than 700 beds at a fraction of the cost of the original 500 bed plan.

By using tents and inmate labor to help reduce the cost of the expansion, our 700 bed plan saved the citizens an estimated 30 million dollars when compared to the consultant’s original 500 bed plan.

Additionally, we needed to create a female jail to remove the 250 female inmates from the main jail to make additional space for violent and dangerous felons. Estimates to build a new female jail ranged upwards to 15 million dollars. Knowing this was too costly, we developed another plan. We decided to use the building next to the jail and convert it into a female jail.  Cost estimates to renovate the structure was 3 million dollars, which we knew was still too much money. As a result, we used inmates to do the bulk of the renovations, and cut the renovation costs in half.

By using tents and inmates to help complete all of the jail expansion projects, we are proud to have saved Brevard taxpayers many, many millions of dollars. It should also be noted that we saved additional dollars by using our existing personnel to open and staff our two most recent tents. We were able to convert 21 pre-existing civilian positions to correctional officers, in lieu of asking County Commissioners for an additional one million dollars, a request they were expecting to fund.

Although the improvements at the jail have received a great deal of positive media attention, we are just as proud of the many improvements we made to all facets of the Sheriffs Office to include Patrol, the 911 Communications Center and other important areas. Some additional initiatives that have been implemented since 2005 include:

• We created a Sexual Offender Unit and were the 1st Sheriff’s Office in the State to use “Offender Watch” to notify citizens of where offenders live and ensure offenders comply with the law and track down and arrest those that do not. 
  
  
• We created a full-time Tactical Team using 8 specially trained Deputy Sheriffs whose mission it is to specifically focus on violent crime and the violent criminals in our communities.
  
  
• We made fighting the Crystal Meth problem in Brevard County a top priority by partnering with Brevard County Fire Rescue and shutting down more than 70 Meth Labs since 2005.  The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office has led the State in Meth Lab busts in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
  
  
• We improved 911 Communications Center performance by funding 8 additional 911 officer positions with dollars saved by eliminating management positions.  In the past 3 years, 911 answering times went from a failing rating of 60% to a current excellent rating exceeding 93%.
  
  
• We created a Crime Analysis Team to develop, analyze and implement crime fighting strategies by combining high tech data collection/analysis with experienced Deputy Sheriff’s to combat crime trends.
  
  
• We partnered with FDLE to create a local Child Abduction and Response Team (CART) for Brevard County to ensure law enforcement responds quickly and effectively if a child is abducted.
  
  
• Improved the capabilities of the K-9 program by adding a highly trained cadaver dog to assist in the location of hidden bodies and a smaller dog trained to find drugs in small locations such as the hull of a ship.
  
  
• We created a Teen Driver Safety Program that includes a new parental notification program and teen driver safety program that is resulting in young drivers operating their vehicles in a safer manner.
  
  
• We improved Deputy Sheriff and Corrections Deputies salaries to be competitive with other law enforcement agencies in the area to prevent the Sheriff’s Office from becoming a training ground for other agencies.
  
  
• We partnered with the Florida Highway Patrol to Crackdown on dangerous drivers on I-95 and worked with State Officials to expedite the I-95 widening project and installation of safety barriers.
  
  
• We created a career development unit designed to expedite the hiring process with the highest quality law deputy and corrections officer recruits.
  
  
• We significantly reduced the number of unserved warrants on violators and fugitives.
  
  
• We modernized the agency’s patrol vehicles to reduce maintenance costs, increase reliability and improve safety.
  
  
• We have updated or are in the process of updating all of the major technological needs of our agency to include a new Computer Aided Dispatching System (CAD) for 911 Officers, an updated and improved criminal data base, the creation of informational Kiosks, and a complete upgrade to our Sheriff’s Office website providing additional and current information at www.BrevardSheriff.com.
  
  
• We were awarded re-accreditation of the agency’s law enforcement and jail operations through the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) a distinction awarded to less than 5% of law enforcement agencies nation wide.
  
  
• Our Aviation Unit was nationally recognized by winning a FLIR Vision Award in 4 of the last 6 years.
  
  
• We have partnered with various Law Enforcement Agencies as part of “Operation Cease Fire” and other operations like “Operation Take Back” to arrest violent criminals that travel across jurisdictional boundaries.
  
  
• We created a gang specialist and started a proactive, intelligence sharing group called the "Anti-Gang Partnership" consisting of approximately 60 people from the Sheriff's office, City Police Departments, the State Attorney's Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Juvenile Detention Center, Crosswinds Youth Services, the FBI and representatives from the Military.
  
  
• We created the Brevard County Partnership which includes the Cocoa Beach Police Department, the West Melbourne Police Department, the Sheriff's Office and the Florida Highway Patrol who all work together to fight illegal drugs and vice related crimes.
  
  
• We received a perfect audit from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) for our Records Management System (RMS) and Judicial Process operations.
  
  
• We created a fair and unbiased promotional and testing process to ensure promotions are based on merit and performance.
  
  
• We used the proceeds from inmate telephone calls to pay for a much needed Crime Lab and Investigations Building, saving an estimated 3 million dollars of taxpayer’s money.
  
  
• We created a Gang and Violent Crime Task Force known as “Operation GAMEOVER” to target violent criminals and gang members which partners the Sheriff’s Office with FDLE, the State Attorneys Office, and the Cocoa, Titusville, Palm Bay and Melbourne Police Departments.
  
  
• We save money on specialized vehicles whenever possible.  An example is the creation of a special Rescue Vehicle we received as government surplus for $500 and will be used to rescue stranded victims in hurricanes and floods.
  
  
• We created a new Sheriff’s Citizens Academy designed to allow citizens an opportunity to participate in a 9 week program that includes an overview of the entire agency.
  
  

Many additional Inmate Work Programs were implemented over the last 3 years. They have already proven to be very successful and have made a positive impact on our community to include;

• We created Paws & Stripes. A program designed to use inmates by giving obedience training to “unadoptable”dogs so they can be adopted.
  
  
• We created a Graffiti Busters Program that used inmates to clean up and paint over graffiti on buildings, overpasses, fences and dumpsters throughout the County, which results in reduced gang activity.
  
  
• We have been recognized by Keep Brevard Beautiful for putting inmates to work by removing trash along roadways and on the islands in Brevard’s rivers and waterways. In the last few years, more than a million pounds of trash has been removed.
  
  
• We created the Bikes for Tykes Program which puts inmates to work rebuilding abandoned bicycles for donation to Sharing Centers throughout the county for underprivileged and deserving children.
  
  
• We created an Inmate Sewing Program which is expected to save citizens $50,000 a year by using inmates to make their own uniforms out of bulk fabric.
  
  
• We partnered with Aramark, our jail food provider, to create a Culinary Program designed to teach inmates about food preparation, giving them the training and certificates needed to get jobs once they are released, reducing the probability that they commit new criminal acts.
  
  
• We placed inmates in Black & White uniforms to ensure they are immediately identified by citizens while they are cleaning roadsides and performing other supervised tasks that benefit the community.
  
  
• • We partnered with Brevard County’s Roadways & Landscaping Department by having inmates grow, maintain and plant decorative bushes and trees at the Sheriff’s Work Farm. When mature, the trees and plants are transplanted throughout the County, reducing costs to our citizens.
  
  

We also,

• Created a Correctional Response Team to handle significant disturbances, riots and escapes at the jail.
  
  
• Created a new Jail Mental Health Unit, a Crisis Intervention Team, and new strategies and protocols to better deal with the mentally ill in our jail. As a result, the number of suicides and attempted suicides at the jail has been greatly reduced.
  
  

These are only a few of the many accomplishments this incredible team of law enforcement and corrections professionals has accomplished. No Sheriff could be more proud of the dedicated, compassionate and committed men and women then the ones we have in your Sheriff’s Office.

I thank you for allowing me the opportunity to serve you and I pledge to you that if you decide to cast your vote to re-elect me as your Sheriff, I will continue to work very hard to earn it.

I sincerely thank you for allowing me the opportunity to serve as your sheriff. If you decide to cast your vote to re elect me, I will continue to work hard each and everyday to earn it. Thank you for your support over the past four years.

Jack Parker,

Sheriff Jack Parker