This town needs an enema

[Unregistered]

For those of you sitting and watching quietly, I urge you to at least type an "I agree" or even "I disagree." Prior to this post and probably to a large degree during the initial parts of this post, your command staff genuinely thought pay and morale we're not a priority. They probably did see it as a problem, just not a priority. This is our time to let them know that this needs to be a priority. Our personal financial well being is a hill worth dying on. Our keeping qualified people next to us to have our backs so we can come home safely to our family is a hill worth dying on.

The update we received on the compensation committee shows just how much the command staff have not been putting sworn pay as a priority. They have had months (and that's being kind) to come up with a plan. There was not anything of substance presented. The committee was put together shortly before budgets are due. They are not set up for much success with such little time to put something together.

Though some if the original posters facts may be off (not by much), the spirit of their statement rings true. Pay is in a bad place, moral is in a bad place, and the leadership is struggling. Law enforcement is no longer a priority at a law enforcement agency. The Command Staff can talk all they want to about that not being true, but their actions and inactions indicate otherwise. The Command Staff have been warned about this before. They chose to not take action to correct the course. It is my hope that this thread and the good job the members of the compensation committee are doing with get them to see that they are not doing a good job. Let's come together and show them that we are a priority.

[Unregistered]

As the late John E. Polk said “if you are not happy, leave! There is the door, don’t let it hit you on the way out! Quit your complaining and go work for OCSO (dream on, they wont hire you), but please remembet the “grass isn’t always greener”! Personally I believe you all are nothing more than a bunch of whiney babies that couldn’t get a job with Eatonville PD if you wanted.

You sure OCSO won’t hire us? Cause we be goin and they be takin! But We can survey it if you’d like.
Don’t quote Polk... he’d probably kick your ass just rolling over in his grave from this crap. He also wouldn’t let his deputies get pushed around by the public, yet here we are doing the customer service special.

The grass certainly is greener when I can pay to replace it. It certainly ain’t green here when I can’t even pay to water that shit.

[Unregistered]

We hope you have been paying attention to the news just south of us. Orange County Commissioners approved OCSO's raises and step plan. With all this scrambling to hire new Deputies (which very few will be able to call themselves a real cop- Jesus, I swear they get weaker by the year) one would think it would be wise to try to be competitive with the surrounding agencies, lest these new, wondrous, degree-toting millennials get sick of working for civilians, doing SARA "projects" (Here's a solution, go find a problem!) or being code enforcement with a gun, and decide to apply to be a real cop elsewhere.

With the homestead exemption and the school safety bills looming on the horizon this year, I hope at least one of you upstairs is paying attention. You think this place is "green" now? Do you have *any* idea how many tenured people are processing with other agencies right now? Do you care?

Also... the most recent promotions. JR was a good one, nicely done. AB and JB? Seriously? And then you have the balls to say this is the first time a promotion has never caused controversy? JB was a lazy, call-dodging slug on patrol and then put in for motors where he could not ride a motorcycle on duty due to “vertigo”, yet while on light duty he rode his personal motorcycle to and from work... brilliant.

AB is one of the most worthless Deputies we have at this agency. Could not handle the road, so he goes to schools. He constantly left his school to go assist the road (He can fill out a tow sheet like nobody's business) then lies and tries to start an IA about another Deputy not being at the detail that he was actually at because of a personal issue with him. Not to mention the fact that if you listened to the radio *at all* during the day, this idiot could not stop transmitting on the primary channel for the most trivial school related matters. He is an absolute coward that let a 15 year old girl dictate a physical confrontation, and put him on light duty. He is 6'5 and easily 300 lbs. The guy has almost NO patrol experience and you decide to put him in charge of a squad of mostly 2 year or less deputies. I can't wait to see how this turns out. But then again, how much patrol experience do you actually have? Not much if memory serves correctly.

People who have never done anything in their careers get promoted, and in turn promote the same type of people. There are very few real cops left in the chain of command. You ran the last damn good one out. SB.

This is not a corporation. I don't lay it all at your feet Sheriff, this place was already in a hole before you officially took over, but you and your civilian "chiefs" have kept the digging at a furious pace. I doubt we'll be able to recover by the time your successor gets into office.

Maybe we should add another 15 PIOs? Or finishing stickering up that new ice cream truck? Or take that shiny new bearcat for a spin? Or make that final payment on that new helicopter with your name on the side of it that we don't need (after sinking almost 1 mil in Alert 1’s camera system)... all while touting how amazing and progressive this place is. Maybe you’ll get 3%, but now we need to add another 15 SRO’s. And health insurance is going up again.

If the public knew we pulled nearly 40 Deputies off the road to cover schools that don't really need a Deputy at them, and how critically understaffed we on the road have been for the last 3 years, they would be absolutely disgusted. The media tour when this was going on was appalling. We have a "cop" (used loosely) at your kids school doing nothing; but no one in your neighborhood during the day or night. Where are your priorities? Wait... we already know. On social media, making sure we look like the friendliest cops around. Quick, get your eclipse glasses on!

Oh, and don’t even get me started on that School Therapy K9 bullshit. What a complete and utter joke. Agencies around the country are laughing at us.

You say your employees are your most valuable asset. It sure as hell doesn't feel like it when we've been denied PTO due to staffing, we're covering 2-3 zones at a time, have supervisors that can’t make decisions, won't hold subordinates accountable, and refuse to tell people to clear BS calls and cover their zone.

What makes people happy? Working for competent people who have done the job, and having enough money to provide for their families, and when you establish a minimum staffing level, enforce that limit.
None of which we have here.

The mass exodus is going to be glorious. These new kids you've hired... they're gone once they get a year or so under their belt, and realize this agency is not about police work, nor is it about ensuring we pay our people a decent wage. I'm sure OPD and OCSO will appreciate the tenured new hires you'll have given them in a few years. And I’ll I bet they’ll be able to hand out ice cream like nobody’s business.

This is not Disney. Stop trying to make "magic" happen. New guns, toys and the elimination of the rank structure are not going to keep people here. A decent wage and feeling like we're working for people who know how to do the job that we do, will. We are a Law Enforcement Agency. Not a customer retention division at a corporation.

You’re all about member engagement right? Where was our input on the new zone restructuring? Never once were we asked what we thought or did we hear about how our input was valued. It was just an email and Boom! Here are your new zones. Utterly ridiculous.

By the way, you said you wouldn't pull any more people for specialized units until the road was fully staffed, which you held true on. But you didn't say you wouldn’t create and staff a new specialized unit.... more proof that staffing and patrol is not your priority.

This property crimes task force stupidity is a lawsuit waiting to happen. You have allowed the absolute worst from every division to band together and run around in jeans and tactical vests picking up warrants, making under 20 and DWLS arrests, and straight up crashing their cars into suspects in neighboring counties. You loved Clutter and Ducharme terrorizing sanford until they got caught doing something incredibly stupid and unlawful. You eventually terminate them for it, and now you create a unit and sanction them to do the exact. same. shit. Brilliant!

Also, you give civilians 6 paid days off (that isn’t deducted from their PTO) for the hurricane, but only give mandatory responders 1 admin reward day? Civilians continue getting the preferential treatment, While those of us that worked 10+ days in a row with no power at home are getting screwed- again.

The only thing that will make me believe in magic will be if you're not re-elected. You're awful. I've never met a more disingenuous and fake person in a position of power. We *all* see it.

A bad manager can take a good workplace and destroy it. You're driving people away, and those that are stuck are so upset and disgruntled that no one is motivated to do anything anymore.

No one trusts you or the rest of the administration. You’ve made it clear you don’t care that people are leaving for more money elsewhere. Really? That’s your answer?

Maybe if you dropped the politician facade and came out to calls with patrol every once and awhile, you'd earn some respect from us. At least Eslinger had some real cop work under his belt.

I’m gonna drag my fifth wheel down to one of the schools and contemplate every decision in my life that led me to this agency.

We know you’re going to demote MD and BL. Screw the good people while you astronomically promote a guy that had only been here 7 years. How was his wedding by the way? It was all over his Facebook that you officiated it. How did that feel to see his face all over the news? Realizing the extent of his sexual deviance after already knowing he’d done this shit before? That’s Captain quality at SCSO. More quality control through your amazing “leadership”.

I bet Eslinger is absolutely livid with what you’ve done to this place.

In the almost 20 years I’ve been here, I’ve never been more ashamed to wear this uniform than I am now.

#WeAreSCSO

Deputies at JEPCF are reading this and agree as well. Everyone in this thread is talking about patrol but Corrections have the same views and issues. New DD’s are being rushed through to fill vacant spots only to be improperly trained and unprepared. These new hires are being pushed through even if they do not pass FTO training. Then the quality new deputies leave after a year or two. Veteran deputies and Deputies in the DROP are debating daily if they should come back tomorrow. Dual Certified personal looking to go on the road can’t because staffing is so low in the jail. Now they are looking to leave for higher paying patrol jobs. 100% of the current crossover academy is planning to leave the jail, and possibly SCSO, once LEO certified. Our chief has zero respect for any subordinate at any level. Inmates are emboldened while staff is afraid of the kiosk (grievance system). We’re afraid our pay may be reduced (according to LB, we make to much), we hear rumors the jail is splitting from the SO, we have a 300hr yearly PTO cap (btw, this is not in any G.O. nor in policy but the jail supervisor must enforce it), we’re over worked due to short staffing, calling in ppl willing to work OT seems to be forbidden, our DSO’s could make more at Walmart, and so on. We’re watching the compensation committee but have little faith in it. JEPCF will continue to have high turnover unless major changes are made leadership and pay.

#WeAreSCSO #BlueFlu #Ballou2020

[Unregistered]

As the late John E. Polk said “if you are not happy, leave! There is the door, don’t let it hit you on the way out! Quit your complaining and go work for OCSO (dream on, they wont hire you), but please remembet the “grass isn’t always greener”! Personally I believe you all are nothing more than a bunch of whiney babies that couldn’t get a job with Eatonville PD if you wanted.

Oh they're leaving alright. And...They ARE getting hired!!! Not only do we have highly experienced and capable leaders leaving for OCSO and OPD, we're seeing people leaving for agencies that, in the past, was unheard of, like Apopka and Longwood. How long before Sanford PD offers a better overall salary and benefits package??? You say leave and don't let the door hit you in the ass. Who's going to replace them? The kids coming in now who've never heard the word "no" in their lives and think being forced to actually do the unsavory yet mandatory parts of their job is grounds for a hostile work environment complaint? Do you really want your next sergeant's total experience to be one year on Markham Woods road and two years neighborhood services? Listen, Champ, we're not far from that already.

[Unregistered]

As the late John E. Polk said “if you are not happy, leave! There is the door, don’t let it hit you on the way out! Quit your complaining and go work for OCSO (dream on, they wont hire you), but please remembet the “grass isn’t always greener”! Personally I believe you all are nothing more than a bunch of whiney babies that couldn’t get a job with Eatonville PD if you wanted.

If you truly know anything about John Polk and you aren’t from team DL. You’d know, he did say that. However, he’d also say if someone hurt one of my deputies he better go to the hospital before he goes to the jail. And he would most certainly suffer a heart attach under this administration. Hell he cried after he appointed DE, once he realized what he did before he died.

The SO has been a failure slowly building now more so under DL. Let’s have more survey monkeys and committees for committees. Shit, admin don’t like the answer we will do another survey after we force our results down your mouth.

We all had faith in this agency years ago even during the hard times. But, the agency only supports loser admin. My god you think the last group of promotions was bad. Shit, SGT JH and LT MS... two admin with only 10 minutes of LE experience are supervisors. JH he has no clue and a box of rocks are smarter. That’s the future of LE. The jail. They are punished totally. You’d be better off working DOC. Or even some private body. The new chief is worthless and treats you all like garbage. And the CH deps, come on you know you can’t screw up there DL’s wife is running you and if she’s not happy he is not happy. Guys, stand up or shut up. GET OUT! There are so many sitting in the fence. What will you do when All the other premium agencies are full and paying fat but your sitting. Stupid.

[Unregistered]

I agree. So do a good chunk of deputies and sergeants!

[Unregistered]

Let’s look even furthe back at SGT JH and I use that title lightly. And SM they are a joke. 10 second cops with majority time NRD and speaking of another agency joke, NRD, those two were supervisors word used losely were 10 second cops. And now they have no clue. What they are doing. Go to other agencies before we become that agency that everyone says oh you guys, shred app!

[Unregistered]

Let’s look even furthe back at SGT JH and I use that title lightly. And SM they are a joke. 10 second cops with majority time NRD and speaking of another agency joke, NRD, those two were supervisors word used losely were 10 second cops. And now they have no clue. What they are doing. Go to other agencies before we become that agency that everyone says oh you guys, shred app!

When referring to supervisors who came out of NRD, I think you mean "MS"

[Unregistered]

Unregistered is merely protecting themselves
I’ve felt the rath of SCSO when I spoke up and pointing out supervisors doing wrong and not to mention illegal things. It gets swept under the rug and they push out the ones that point them out.
Maybe more will get caught like that Weipport slug.
The Sheriff needs to contact and bring back the ones that left, the type of Deputies who really cared and backed it up with work ethic and values.

You really lost a lot of those types of employees Sheriff. But it appears you don’t care who represents the agency anymore, just the numbers I guess.

[Unregistered]

This is the Committee that should have been formed. In any great organization and with successful businesses you as leaders should welcome criticism as well as praise. I hope this week the administration doesn’t come to work with their asses on their shoulders, but instead come together and formulate a plan to plug the holes in this sinking ship. Bring back morale to this agency and stop the cancer.