2012?

How about posting a name to go along with these strong words you type. You have us listening it would just be nice to put a face to look forward to.

How about posting a name to go along with these strong words you type. You have us listening it would just be nice to put a face to look forward to.

I'm sure in time they will give a name. Be patient, please.

I will in time reveal myself. It would be unwise at this time to lay everything out.

Just believe that change can and will happen, there is light at the end of the tunnel and HCSO can be a place were Deputies like to come to work.

I would like to continue to post my ideas, philosophy and maintain a dialog, as well as gather feed back from everyone to help formulate the type of agency that is desired by everyone. It's not a one man show, but a group effort.

They have no idea how law enforcement changed and they would be the first one to give a citizen comment form to hang a deputy out.....

yes they did. they knew what a bunch of jerk offs work with us. if a citizen has a complaint, it does need looked into correctly, which is not happening and has not happened in the past. we have too many dirty guys and dolls who work with us and the citizens have lost faith and trust in us. look at what some have done to us. i know i can't wait to get out of here...in time bro in time. morale sucks and the younger deputies are not doing what they should be, not all of them but too many who have gotten away with too much. as was said if they are liked in the community or their families own businesses and support the sheriff they can do what they want and the brass thinks the people can't see through it. that is bullsheet and our department is way out of hand. problem is it's who you know and not what you know. i wish i would have never come to this department and you won't see me here for much longer.
guest 2012 when and if you run for sheriff keep in mind the good old boys are abundant in this department. i am not one of them and i take my job very seriously, with the residents of this county kept in mind at all times. this is why i am getting out of here as soon as i can.
remember bros, one day we will all have to face the ultimate judge and that sure isn't nugent or his suck ass yes men and women.

It looks like the agency admin needs an enema and the troops need real leadership

Guest 2012, "needs an enema" is strong wording and is disrespectful. This does not sound like leadership in my opinion and is an improper start....warranted or not.

You also state, "and the troops need real leadership". Guest 2012, what makes you qualified as a real leader?

You are going to have to be a real leader in the community too as well as in the political arena. You cannot just run an agency if "elected" and not commit to these.

I'm a retired Deputy from the Tampa Bay area

What kind of retirement do you have and is it from an on the job disability after only three years on? Another point is where in the Tampa Bay area as some areas are boring to work in. What is your LE experience?

now Senior management in the private sector

Senior management in the private sector means nothing on this board.

What do you oversee? How many employees report directly to you and what are their positions? How many people do you come in contact with in your senior management position each week? What kind of company is it? What was their payroll each year for the last 5 years? Does it have a comptroller? How many employees are employed full time/part time? Do you sub? How many locations does the company have, how many reportable injuries has it had over the last three years, what reductions have been made since and describe your light duty program if one exists............do you see where I'm coming from?

What do you know about GL, WC, Hold Harmless'/Indemnities, procuring health insurance/life insurance, setting up light duty programs, vendor's, NEGOTIATING, employer law, contracts, unions, and etc.

Do you even know the names of the people who run our government in Hernando County? Who will you reach out to if you need some advice? Are you aware of any unofficial channels in other counties or will you make the citizens fearful of your short comings if you have any?

"Senior management" could mean that you have a friend or two that run a small security company which provides unarmed guards to a small client base using retired men and women trying to supplement their SS income.

......or are you a multi million/billion dollar corporate executive that has reported directly to the owners, board or president for at least five years who has a proven track record which would make you a VP in a vital department or pretty close to it.

Some of my biggest problems in the business world are with top management not being morally straight in their dealings with certain vendors. Some of these insecure managers accept bribes, from gifts to monthly pay offs to se x. That does not include how they run their departments into the ground and kill morale. Some try to be big shots by promising jobs to their friends to impress people and then they start to put pressure on certain employees to quit so that they can hire their new drinking buddies.

The empty can rattles the most.....are you an empty can?

Time for new, younger and progressive blood that will empower his Deputies

Again, the maturity of the writing does not sell. You must keep in mind that even though you are speaking directly to HCSO's finest, you are also being read by Hernando county's citizens who will be voting.

I appreciate the responses, both good and bad. It gives me a true metric of feeling and thoughts out there about 2012

My question is how does it give you a true metric of the feelings and thoughts out here about 2012? You have had only a few responses since your first post. This to me makes no sense. Where else are you getting responses where you can write these things on this board?

Some of the responses here could be bogus or from some kids on summer vacation................I could be one of them.

I'm a simple man, with simple values and resources

I respect that you are a simple man with simple values and resources but to run an agency like this, it (in my opinion) takes a whole lot more to do a good job for the agency and COMMUNITY of Hernando County.

Teamwork and Unity will be familiar words once again

My question is how will you instill teamwork and unity (if it is lacking) into the agency and when.

As Sheriff, once my admin duties for the day are done, you'll find me in read off and on the street with the troops. I LEAD FROM THE FRONT!

Again, you have some of the community reading your writings and not just HCSO's finest. How many shifts will you be working? Are you married? Do you have children?

You lead from the front? What are you going to do.......traffic stops or beat units to a call or do you mean that you will take the non priority calls because they are not below you? I understand that if (God forbid) something big happened that you would have to be there. That is not a problem, but could you be more specific and the next question would be for how long?

Have you gone over the crime stats and understand how they are categorized? Are all of the employees at HCSO qualified for their positions? How many records will you go through and then evaluate on an individual basis or will you trust what has been written in each file (i.e. college grad without verifying or solid LEO by good outside friend supervisor)?

Do you know which areas of our county have the biggest problems? Do you know what those problems are? Will you re-zone certain patrol areas of Hernando County? Do you know how to apply for Federal grants and be almost guaranteed to receive them? Do you know where all of your resources are (hint: not hiring friends but other things)? What other ways will you get more money to put towards bettering the agency and our community?

What experience do you have in writing policies and procedures? How about emergency contingency plans? Do you know what you are looking at when reviewing them or will you just accept them as is or based on someone's title..............I'm not saying that they need to be changed, I'm asking if you know what you are doing.

Have you ever activated an EOC at 02:00? Have you ever considered that the comms center may not get timely weather info and that if a tornando is confirmed to use the reverse 911 system for the direction it may be heading because not everyone has a weather radio? Could it work? Your here for the community as well as the agency.

Are you familiar with all of the emergency services and the different levels in Hernando county and do you know what is available to you from state to federal?

HOW WILL YOU REVIEW THE COMMS CENTER? Do you have any firefighting or emergency medical experience? Are all medical calls going out quickly enough? How will you know? This is my biggest concern. The community suffers if things can't go faster.......remember "protection of life and property"........this is included.

CAD systems are good for some things but bad for others. The computer could categorize a call as a fall which sounds like someone tripped when in one case someone actually fell 70 feet at a golf course (dispatched as a fall). In other calls, vital signs are given and in one case a dispatcher said that a person urinated on themselves...........is this necessary information before dispatching an ambulance?

Does the dispatcher have to tell the paramedics this over the air? No they do not! The medics can do their own assessments when they get there....all they need is a nature of the call, not if the person has bathed that day or not.

It seems that people, since the change-over are looking for more information from the call taker/dispatcher before moving faster to include not sending a second ambulance emergency or specialized equipment until someone gets there first...........you can always cancel them........minutes are literally lost at times and don't forget we do not have a level I or II trauma center close by. Some trauma patients have waited about an hour at times in the back of an ambulance waiting for an un-available medical helicopter. Paramedics were not designed for trauma patients and do not have the equipment! Do you know who the medical director is? Are they involved in how medical calls are taken (to include motor vehicle accidents and etc)?

For a motor vehicle accident ask if there are injuries, if so, just send an ambulance, an apparatus with a hurst tool with proper man power then ask the additional questions like if anybody has been ejected and etc. The computer is making decisions and not properly trained people with COMMON SENSE. This could be killing people. How would you know?

As far as unneccessary and embarrassing information over the air, this is a small community and people have scanners and know their neighbor's addresses.....they don't need to know this information!

Do you know the difference between an als and a bls ambulance and which to send? If not, that is what the computer is for but don't we have ALL als ambulances in this county? I believe so...........so why are we functioning this way when it comes to medical calls?

EMT's with three years of full time street experience (on an ambulance) should be taking and dispatching medical calls. You get an address, a nature of the call, the closest cross street and a phone number of the caller and then dispatch.........you then ask additional or assist over the phone as needed......none of this layman index card or computer algorythm stuff.

I apologize but I don't think that you would know how to review the comms center and I believe that the Sheriff would be the one to oversee it's success. Your Florida State required "First Responder" Certification won't cut it.

These are just a few "ADMIN DUTIES" that are required by the Sheriff, are you sure that you will have time to be on the street with the troops??

As a Sheriff, I will completely clean house on the admin side and bring in my own people. They will have my philosophy instilled in them...The troops come first!. NO cookie cutter garbage and NO "Yes men". All of them will be hard working cops / cops and have a proven track record of making it happen on the street. I want leaders, not managers. I can teach anyone to manage (Write schedules, assign zones etc), but I need people the troops believe in.

In my opinion, it would be foolish to completely clean house on the admin side and bring in your own people. A "true leader" would not say that or more importantly, do that. It is a gradual and proper process. You sound as if you do not have any true leadership training and/or years of experience "leading".

Just believe that change can and will happen, there is light at the end of the tunnel and HCSO can be a place were Deputies like to come to work.

What kind of change and are you deceiving anyone? I have been part of teams in which when one person leaves the company, they negotiate to bring the top brass with them for more pay and benefits. We all go and after several months to a year, the old company wants us back and are willing to pay even higher salaries and equivalent beni's.
Are your guys that good in the admin side of what the agency and our community needs and with all due respect I believe that HCSO has some fine deputies. What makes your "proven track record cops" any better.

Maybe it's limitations keeping some troops down and even then will your "cops" train people without some type of contract (if it's legal) if they need it.........it's a pain in the butt to put your heart and soul into someone just to have them leave or not make the cut. I can't see any difference in how things may be handled.

I would like to continue to post my ideas, philosophy and maintain a dialog, as well as gather feed back from everyone to help formulate the type of agency that is desired by everyone. It's not a one man show, but a group effort.

Sorry but the community comes first and foremost, not you trying to make a cool club. Most if not all of HCSO deputies are professionals.

Do you have a US Military background as an NCO with at least two NCO leadership schools and at least 6 years experience in those positions? That would look good to me for starters.

Do you have a four year college degree from an accredited college?

What is your business experience?

What is your budget manager experience? You will operate on a budget and the tax payers may like to know what you can do?

As a Sheriff in Hernando County, what would be priority one for the community (you should have at least two or three top priorities that tie as number one).

Have you gone over the accident (motor vehicle) stats yet? I feel that FHP may be lacking in some of their investigations.

Question: Based on a headlight filament, can you determine if the headlight was on during a motor vehicle accident at night?........where is your expertise in LE?

Can you professionally compare certain streets, roads and etc to their posted speed limits (hint: some should say 35 MPH insteaed of 50 MPH)? What would you do to lower pedestrian fatalities in those areas or the motor vehicle accident fatalities in other areas when "engineering" or Florida DOT states that they are fine? It's politics or money.......yet people are still in danger.

What other areas have you worked in? Have you worked in different states or countries? Sometimes when someone works in one town, they stay stuck in their ways because they do not know any better.
There are better ways to do things and older people hate change. It has been said through some studies that it is very difficult to teach something a different way after it has been taught another (I can't quote the studies right now).

I have at times tried to change how people act on the job based on learning something that is 100% proven and they have told me, "well that's how it's done here". What is your mind set?

Do you know of any equipment problems at HCSO? Does everyone and every department have what they need? Are we as a community up to date in "police technology"?

Have you worked as/in:
A homicide investigator?
A detective in any fashion...not a patrolman?
A traffic homicide investigator/reconstructionist?
A K9 handler?
A DT instructor?
An FTO?
An ERT/SWAT Leader and/or sniper?
A forensics tech?
In water patrol?
Any type of SAR?
in narcotics/vice?
organized crime/gang activity?
community programs?
educating/helping kids?
the media.....................

You have to have a good working knowledge of everything.

What do you have other than the words you have already spoken?

I 'm reading..................

Hey guest 2012 your OUT!!!!!! I am voting for WONDERING...... Excellent Blog... :cop: :cop: :cop: :cop: :cop:

Hey guest 2012 your OUT!!!!!! I am voting for WONDERING...... Excellent Blog... :cop: :cop: :cop: :cop: :cop:

do you really think that guest2012 is going to lay everything on the plate this early on? i won't decide who i am voting for until much later in the game. i hope you rethink what you have typed and do the same thing and i hope you don't base your vote on a mere forum entry. i know i won't and neither will many in the community who don't even read this forum. wondering is probably the one who is running from within and that is not what we need. we do need someone from the outside to come in and flush the place out.

advice to guest2012 be careful what you say.
the main concern of the brass who post here is to find out who is posting and that is why someone already wanted to know who you are. :cop: :cop: :cop:

Look Guest 2012 is full of hot air.. Wondering smacked him good... Guest 2012 is a fake, a nobody, Loser :devil: :devil: :devil: :devil: :devil:

Again, I appreciate the feedback both good and bad. Let me make some quick comments, before I respond to the long winded post from what is obviously a HCSO brass member or supervisor.

I have answers for what you probably think is a witty post.

1. I don't care if Nugent and his team try to find out who I am. There is nothing they can do to me or about it.
2. It is unwise to reveal the entire Business Plan and myself at this time.

I will tell you that have a strong following in Hernando, to include citizens, Judges and local attorneys. I have been asked to consider the position, which will be backed both publicly and financially by these individuals. They want change too and after speaking to me and understanding by background, they feel that I am a good candidate. That's all.

I know that this board can be a cancer sometimes, but sometimes is used for good. I'm just putting the word out there for both the LEO's and the citizenry.

Now............... In response to the post by “WONDERING”, you know too much about EOC, COMM CENTER etc to not be in the game. You’re not fooling anyone. So let’s begin.

Insecure people yell the loudest. Are you insecure?

-Enema: This is a strong word, which is why I chose it. After speaking to the above mentioned demographic of the county, it’s needed. I know that an overwhelming majority of the troops feel this way as well. If you feel disrespected or you feel it is disrespectful, TOUGH! I’m not here to make friends with everyone. And yes is it leadership. It’s about transparence, accountability and calling it like you see it… Even when it hurts! The scum bag sense of entitlement you feel, because you are a brass member or supervisor is disturbing and hollow. Hence, why the admin needs an enema. I will not tolerate it.

-Leadership: What qualifies me? A high level of moral fiber and integrity, ethics, sense of urgency, discipline, compassion, loyalty, expecting nothing other than a paycheck, honesty, accountability, listening skills, action, following the rules I except everyone else to follow, being the first on through the door on a hot call and not hiding behind the cruiser while the troops do it, a distain for the sense of entitlement, being able to admit when you’re wrong, standing you’re ground when your right, meaning what I say and saying what I mean, being a shield for my troops, providing proper training, dealing with issues head on and not ducking them because of political ramifications, the ability to speak to the masses and communicate efficiently, vision for the future, leading by example not through policy. All of these I posses, make me a leader. A person all people can believe in and get behind, not looked at with suspicious eyes and doubt. A Sheriff for all the people of Hernando, not just the select elite or chosen few. There’s one of the problems, your notion of the “Political arena”. The people of Hernando will either reelect me or not, based on my efforts and leadership. Is crime up or down, is Hernando a hot bed for drugs and crime, or do we feel safe. These are the questions people ask themselves about the police and this is the measure of how we are doing. Not how big I can smile on tv and through shade at an uncomfortable topic. The community either likes you or they don’t and those stripes will be earned, not given!

-Retirement: I retired from Law Enforcement in good standing after 15 years. I know, I know… I need 40 years experience and the lobotomy comes with being promoted right?

-Senior management in the private sector: It has everything to do the measure of your effectiveness and have everything to do with this board, as it is a part of me and what I bring to the table. I oversee hiring/firing, managing a multi-million budget, all of the HR function, payroll, talent management, support / logistics, billing and accounts receivable and the IT section. Everyone reports to me and I manage numerous employees, spread out across 4 states. I report to the CEO and the company board on the daily events and strategic movement of the company.
True measure: This is not the only venue I am reaching out too, but one and a tool to put my feelers out. I really don’t need it to make sense to you “WONDERING”. Thanks for the feed back though.

-Values: My point in this matter was as simple as the statement. I have no hidden agenda, I’m not interested in furthering my career past Sheriff and I owe no one! I respect the fact that you came on here and gave me “You’re opinion”, but that’s all that is… “You’re Opinion”. With your statement in this area, you must be a proponent of change then, because what’s going on now is not a “Good job”. The doors to the agency are merely open and people are working, but that does not represent a good job being done (Admin Level). I can take a piece of crap from the front yard, put icing and a candle in it, make it look pretty and call it a cupcake. However, when you bit into it…it’s still a piece of crap! I’m not saying that Nugent is a piece of crap, so relax. I’m just giving an analogy.

-Team Work: This is the easiest one for me to handle. One of the biggest problems today in law enforcement is the admin in agencies losing the vision on what’s really important, your people. I will be at as many readoffs as I can, on the street and on the radio as much as I can. The admin as no interest in this and like to make policy, pass judgment and formulate opinions from their air conditioned office. This is where the machine breaks down and the troops feel that they are out there alone. I will keep the admin and agency true to its core competencies and not spread ourselves thin trying to manage multiple projects or the enhancement of their careers, which takes away from the mission. Aggressively going after grants for training, equipment and programs that allow me to hire more Deputies, but also serve the true needs of the citizens. There needs to be movement within the agency. The troops like to try different things and I think they should. It only diversifies their knowledge and builds their skill level and in turn, makes them a better, well rounded Deputy for the citizens. Maybe re-look at the scheduling. I like the Tampa schedule, 4 on 4 off. This gives the troops a good break between work weeks and the opportunity to work the extra details for cash. Yes, it can be done. We just need to shift and reallocate resources. And money…… I will fight to get the Deputies raises each and every opportunity I get. Here is where the private sector advantage comes in, the one that you said is not applicable. The county has a budget, like a whole pie. It’s up to the head of each county department to make their play for the biggest piece. You need to be a better business person and know how to get that biggest piece. You keep pushing with a whole host of things, not just “Crime will increase”. This is only a fraction of what they need and want to hear. I have all the training, experience and knowledge to make it happen with the budget. Paid cops are happy cops! The worse thing they can say is no, so why not push the envelope. I will not take a raise, if the troops are not getting one. I will take my portion and recirculate it to the payroll pool. It might not be much, but at least I’m in it with them. The admin don’t need new cars every year to drive to and from the office. That money’s can be used for a new cruiser for patrol. Yearly events at the S.O., top notch relationship with the union and not the attitude that I’ll play nice in the sand box with you, quarterly awards for the hard working go getters etc. I’d like to implement a civilian group of people, that handles all the non criminal wrecks and found property calls in the county. They can also take low, no suspect information calls over the phone…A telephone reporting unit. These programs are much cheaper than having a Deputy respond, when properly trained collect all the necessary info and forward to CID (inactive, pending further leads) and will actually save money over a period of time and allow me reallocate resources to needed areas. This keeps Deputies available for high priority calls. There grants out there for this. We need to aggressively go after technology too. Anything that allows a Deputy to complete a through, timely and professional investigation by themselves is a must! Visibility, load balancing the work, appreciation, making the job easier, safer….. I could go on and on about team work. The moral of this is and you will hear it a lot from me, “BACK TO BASICS”.

Insecure people yell the loudest. Are you insecure?

-Unity,UCR,Others: I have explained how I will create unity and it is LACKING there! I know all about the crime stats and how UCR works. I was part of the committee at the agency I worked at that did all the GIS statistics and printed out detailed maps of patterns of crime in a particular area etc. I know the demographics of Hernando, the hot spots and the issues that plague the county. I have spoken to ASA’s and the PD’s and I know which areas are of concern, right down to traffic issues. I also know by talking with them, which Deputies and admin have the worst reputations, professionally. I will constantly be evaluating everyone, to make sure they meet mine and the communities’ expectation. This is an ongoing practice. The bad seeds will reveal themselves.

-Comm Center: Are you telling me, that every Chief of a PD and Sheriff know everything about the comm center and EOC? You’re sadly mistaken. They have a pretty good idea of how it works and they surround themselves with the people that know it back and forth to advise him/her. I give my expectations, must haves and the professionals move forward supervising keeping the needs, safety and law requirements in mind. This is all under my watchful via weekly meeting and evaluation processes. Activate EOC…No and neither did not most Sheriff’s until they needed to for the first time. All the systems in place would be made aware to me, once I was in office with the people in place that know how to use it. I have other ideas about how those systems could be used in conjunction with other programs. ALS-Advanced life support / BLS-Basic life support…. Are you kidding me. I will form a committee of experts in the county to review, tweak and test our comm center EMS practices and response times. What works, what does not work and what can we do better. Calls for service are screened by the excellent people in the comm center that know what they are doing and I expect the people in place supervising are monitoring situations. I will be putting a sworn supervisor in the comm center to oversee the operation, which will be in charge. You make it sound as if Sheriff Nugent’s is working in the comm center full time, taking calls. Is he? Or does he understand the process after taking office, being briefed of its function and putting the right people in place. Your apology is not needed, because I’m sure the Sheriff and almost all Sheriff’s have the basic “First Responder certification”. These ADMIN duties are oversee and delegated to the properly trained experts in his office. Give me a break!

-Cleaning House: A real leader recognizes faults, broken processes and people. Then adapts, overcomes and moves forward. There is no need to for the ritual of phasing people out or what you believe is a proper process. And who are you tell me or anyone else what’s proper? Immediate change is needed, clean slates and a new beginnings. This strategy has been very successful and effective in other agencies in similar situations and now they are beckons of law enforcement. I’m not making a “Cool club”, but a likable, attractive, professional agency that is not just a training ground for cops who leave for better agencies, but a place that can be a career agency. Of course the citizens come first and of course HCSO has outstanding Deputies. That goes without saying, so please get off your condescending, self righteous, daggered soap box. If Deputies and the civilian staff like what they do and where they work, that image is presented to the citizens in every way… Appearance, attitude, willingness to go the extra mile, approachability etc. Perception is reality to most folks. I have spoken to several Deputies, who are extremely talented cops. But they are miserable and it’s obvious when you talk to them. That attitude is displayed, not by conscious thought. I felt it and I wasn’t the one he was dealing with. I don’t want Deputies to see me and feel comfortable approaching me, not because I’m the Sheriff, but because they appreciate my efforts and they understand I am in the fight with them.

Insecure people yell the loudest. Are you insecure?

I have been in patrol, community policing, ERT, CID (Various positions) FTO and community programs directed by the Sheriff. My business experience is extremely intense. I have a college education, although I’m not sure what that really has to do with it. A degree in physical therapy would not be helpful in this capacity. I get it; it’s about the legitimacy that it could offer to make me sound better as a candidate, but not really being applicable. Because there are Sheriff’s and Admin that have degrees in nonsense, but claim a degree…Sounds really great right? Its total garbage and offers nothing to position. I would rather an experience cop that has all the applicable knowledge. Where are not NASA, where the guys and girls that fight the bad guys in the night.

Folks, don’t listen to the political rhetoric of others. The post from “WONDERING” was cleverly written to create doubt, but most of the issues and arguments are mute. The fact of the matter is that there are Sheriff’s both past and present, that have never be a cop a day in their life! It’s an elected position and ultimately a popularity contest, which is why people campaign and spend money. So the Sheriff’s that have no experience as a cop, who get elected, how do they do it? How do they get elected over and over again? They don’t know anything, but they surround themselves with the right people. The Sheriff does not run the agency by him/her self as “WONDERING” is trying to portray. If he or she did run the agency by themselves and knew EVERYTHING, they would be a policing god and that is not the case anywhere folks. I at least have a ton of experience as a cop, as well as corporate America. Don’t talk to me about the comm center, we have the right people for that. Talk to me about pressing issues, like budgets, meth labs etc. I will be working with the other Bay area Sheriff’s to create high level information sharing and task forces to combat any all issues. Citizens, you should know that most agencies don’t like information sharing with other agencies. The reason is simple, they want to look like the hero when something goes down and this lack of communication is a huge disservice and detriment to you. The agencies pose as if they do this, but being on these teams and on the inside for years, it is only 1/10 of what should be going on. I don’t care who gets the credit, I just want it done and bad people off the street so they are not walking around with you.

Insecure people yell the loudest. Are you insecure?

Your attempt to make me go away or look not so attractive failed!

I’m reading, watching and listening…

Be safe