Sheriff Why?

Sheriff why would you choose to go by seniority and give people with new or newer cars the option of having a brand new car when probably 40% of your fleet is driving around in 2001’s with well over 100k miles? Seniority is fine option IF you had a current up to date fleet of vehicles for YOUR deputies to drive.

Have you checked with the garage to see how many deputies are sharing cars because so many of the 2001’s are broken and there are not enough spares? Talk about your poor management ideas, I can make it simple for you get a list of every vehicle and it’s mileage. Go down that list and start with the oldest car, and then look for the highest mileage. Next look for preventable crashes within the last two to three years. Next and the hard one, skip over your friend that is in a 2005 with 21k.

The way you are doing it now doubles your workload and is typical of Pasco government at it’s finest.

I cant believe how many stupid people we have working for our agency. If you believe half of the bull and rumors on this site than you're as stupid as the rest of them. Instead of sitting in front of your computer whining, why don't you solve your own cry baby problems and stand behind your Sheriff, who's only looking out for your best interests. Regarding running lights and sirens, if you think that you should run x18 to the call, run x18 to the call. According to the general order, it still leaves the option up to the discretion of the deputy. Let your supervisor cancel you so they eat the liability. Regarding new cars, if you want one buy one. At least the gas is free, you can drive it anywhere in the county you want, and you don't have to pay for the repairs when it breaks down. As far as being short handed (both jail and the road), the county decides how many positions the Sheriff needs every year. If you have complaints about being short staffed, route them through the County Commission and not the Sheriff. He can only work with what he gets. He ASKED for the positions for everyone, but the County Commission decided that they would sacrifice Public Safety to improve roads and lower property taxes. We are all on the same team here and I think everyone forgets that. We need to stand by our Sheriff and start placing the blame on the appropriate people.

Second poster you have been lead astray for sure, lets look back over the last 6 years and see what the sheriff asked for and that was nothing when it comes to new positions, had he just put a a few of the positions that we have needed the six years in the budget then we would not need to ask the county for 98 deputies now. You have your head so far up the sheriff's arse you are licking his badge on his shirt. Open you eyes and think about how budgeting and running a agency and how it is really done and you might see the short falls we are facing in this administration.

Don't let them tell you that the county commission is running the show. A respective budget consist of asking for what you need each year and not loading it up all at once as it was done this time. He actually is now using the county as his escape to say they didn't give it to us, but I tried. That is all hog wash and anyone that has ever done a budget can see that and the bull that is being spit on our shoes.

My friend I do believe it is you that is being led astray. I don't let anyone tell me anything. I formulate my own opinions. Before I became a deputy, I was in charge of running a business and I do know how budgeting works. If you've done your research you would know the Sheriff has asked for several new positions each year, however he is only granted what the County Commission feels is necessary. Second, the Sheriff asked for 98 new positions. This was for sworn and civilian, not 98 new deputies. Furthermore, it wouldn't matter if the Sheriff asked for a few additional positions here or there, it would still amount to the number of positions that we currently need, which was rejected by the County Commission. I believe it is you that has your head up someone’s “arse” because obviously you have no clue what really goes on in this agency. I understand that there are moral problems in this agency, but it all originates from the disgruntled employees who spread RUMORS throughout the agency. If you haven’t noticed, the Sheriff is already trying to make the agency a better place (i.e. revisions in the chain of command). It has become a habit to blame the Sheriff for all the agency’s problems, but look at all of the GOOD things he has done for this agency. For example: Now there is a waiting list to become a deputy for the Pasco Sheriff’s Office. Under previous administrations we couldn’t even get people to apply here. Under Sheriff White’s administration, the agency now has more advanced technology such as both hand-held radios and in-car radios, laptop computers, a new communications center with up-to-date equipment, and a new East Operations Center. It’s time that agency members began to think of positive things within the agency instead of the negatives. It will make for a better working environment. I don’t think it’s on the Sheriff’s agenda to make people in the agency disgruntled or unhappy. Sometimes unpopular decisions are made and everyone is quick to point fingers at our Sheriff. Instead of complaining and pointing fingers, we should work together to help the administration come up with solutions to these problems. I work everyday and never encounter any problems that arise directly from the Sheriff. If everyone put half as much effort into work as they do spreading rumors and complaining, they would realize that our agency isn’t as bad as people make it out to be.

1st when did this become a discussion about staffing?

2nd I believe the original poster was unhappy with the distribution of new vehicles. Which is a valid complaint.

3rd Why did the post turn into a Sheriff Arse kissing fest.

4th New papers reported that the Sheriff repeatedly undercut himself when it came to the requested budget over the years.

5th "PSO" member is obviously administration.

Hmm, you mean the radios that don't work in certain areas of the county, or the hand helds that wont work in a modern cinderblock house? Oh yeah the computers running MDB software that is seven years old and routinely goes down once a week making us verbally get dispatched to calls with no FCIC/NCIC.

Wait you mean the fact that there is a waiting list... I think that if you look most agencies in Florida probably have a waiting list. The question you should be asking is just because there is a waiting does not mean that the people on the list are viable, hirable applicants.

East operations center equals a building for staff and supervisors. Wow!!!

You are right I don't believe that it is the Sheriff's agenda to make people in the agency disgruntled. I think that he may not know the real problems he has in this agency because his staff are telling him that everything is fine. If the Sheriff knows that we have a shortage on the road then divert personnel from the numerous non report taking specialty units and put people where they are needed most.

Here is a question for you PSO member: If the Sheriff has a clue then why are we in patrol required to do 10 to 12 directed patrols a night when our job is to patrol? Here is a hint, bogus stats.

or why is it that I work a 12 hour shift but when evaluations come around any time that I am not en-route, on a call, or logged out on some sort of administrative/self initiated activity counts as time NOT worked? Here is another hint, when I am not "logged" out on something I AM PATROLING

Hmm, you mean the radios that every other agency in the Tampa Bay area carries with the exception of Hillsborough County, which carries radios older than CSU’s. Pasco Fire/Rescue carries these radios; Pinellas carries them, FWC, FHP, NPR. It’s the latest technology out there. Obviously the Sheriff cannot afford to buy new radios for the entire agency every time a new one comes out. The Sheriff went to Tallahassee and Washington DC in an attempt to try to improve radio communications in Pasco County, which was again declined by non-law enforcement officials. Second, the MDB’s are the most current version out there. It is the same version that Pinellas County has. If you remember, the MDB’s were upgraded two years ago when the Sheriff purchased brand new laptops for every Deputy in Patrol. The reason why the MDB’s go down “once a week” is because agency members misuse their computers (i.e. streaming music and videos), which clogs up the server causing it to go down. This again, is not a problem caused by the Sheriff.

Regarding the waiting list, you didn’t read what I wrote. You’re right, just because there is a waiting list doesn’t mean they are good applicants for the job. But before, when every other agency had a waiting list (whether it be hirable applicants or not) we couldn’t even get people to apply here.

In response to the East Operations Center, it’s not just a building for staff and supervisors. There is a patrol workroom just like at West-ops, there is a full gym for employees, free of charge open 24/7, lockers and showers.

I agree with most of what you said regarding personnel and specialty units, however, the Sheriff cannot just move people from these specialty units because half of the salaries for these positions are either funded by grants for their specific purpose or by other entities like the Pasco County School Board. This is a perfect example of how members complain before being completely aware of what’s going on.

Directed Patrols: Yes you are a Deputy and your secondary duty as a Deputy is to patrol (the first being answer calls for service). The purpose of Directed Patrols is to show that you are patrolling and to document the time spent on patrolling. A directed patrol doesn’t mean check out at a shopping center, drive through the parking lot and clear it. What you should be doing, is checking out at the shopping center, getting out of your car and making sure all of the doors to the businesses are locked. You can check out in neighborhoods and run traffic or drive through the neighborhoods looking for suspicious activity. No one is telling you that you cannot patrol. All they are asking you to do is when you are patrolling document it. They want the time you spent patrolling to be documented so it can be presented to the County Commission to show that our deputies are constantly busy and we still need more help. The only reason that Directed Patrols would be bogus stats would be if you were not actually doing them.

PSO Member,

You seem to be intelligent, yet you also are not keenly aware of everything going on in the agency as you purport yourself to be.

Regarding the handheld radios: it is not the radio that is the problem, it is the poor infrastructure that supports it. You cannot expect any radio out there to work 100% of the time in the county when you have only three radio towers there. The tower coverage is only 70-80% at best. You could go get new handhelds, it would not matter. Our system has been doomed to fail since it was installed. Of course you were not here then, so you would not know.

Regarding Specialty Units: The Sheriff can do whatever he wants with most of these units with the exception of SRO. He does not need the large number of employees in COP, that is what he and the Colonel have chosen. These are not grant positions, that grant expired years and years ago, again, probably way before your time.

Regarding Directed Patrols: The biggest load of crap going. These directed patrols are a way to measure the amount of activity you are allegedly doing. Once again, way before your time, deputies did get out of their cars and rattle doors and check for windows that were broken. We also knew how to draw lines in the sand in parking lots and watch to see if anyone had crossed them throughout the night. For the oldtimers on here, patrolling is alot more than using your computer to log the stuff you are not really doing. Everyone knows the people out there are using the directed patrols as a way to get something to eat when they are busy, get caught up on reports when they are down, or perhaps the most common, to dodge calls for service. I would be more impressed with deputies if things were measured the way they used to be, by quality of reports, quality of arrests, and self initiated activity. Sorry, but to me a directed patrol is worth about 1/10 of a written warning.

Regarding the County Commission being responsible for what the agency gets: WRONG. Had the Sheriff not "low-balled" the County commission (his words, not mine, read the St. Pete Times) for the past five years, this agency would be in better shape. Were you in any of the meetings with the Sheriff when he said he was working with the Commission, asking for less, so when he did ask for more it would be no problem??? Have you been here long enough to have heard that??? Well, most of us have. And he was told way back during his first budget request to ask for what you need, do not ask for less. Many many experienced people told him that. But I guess he was "schooled" by the Commission on how Pasco Politics is played. They made him look foolish and greedy this year. Now we will continue to suffer his bad decisions. He should have asked for what we needed all along.

Regarding laptop computers: The boxes themselves may be new, it is the software that sucks. Since the Director of IT does not like Microsoft, we all suffer with less than the best software. Ask the detectives and others using "freeware" about the glitches and other problems with the system. When Patrol got new laptops, the old ones got recycled to the Detectives. But Patrol kept Microsoft Word. Now, lets think this one through. Dtectives write their own supplements, and the Road calls theirs in to Call In or on the MARS system. So why do Detectives get leftover word processing programs???

"Instead of complaining and pointing fingers, we should work together to help the administration come up with solutions to these problems." This is a wonderful idea. It is a shame, however, that the Sheriff does not think so. Many people with much more experience than his whole Command Staff have tried to give him advice. Guess what? He does not listen. Ask anyone who has been forced to attend a five-on-one "Meet the Sheriff" meeting. Terry, take this down; nothing changes.

Before you go protecting the Sheriff and diverting the blame for what is going on, perhaps you should be better informed. You seem to be an intelligent person. It is a shame you have not researched your information better in order to support your claims. They just don't hold water. But hey, keep trying, it is nice to have someone here who can form a complete sentence!

You seem to lack reading comprehension skills, as you have not comprehended half of what I have been saying. I stated that the Sheriff has been trying to improve the communication towers but we cannot afford it in our budget and we are getting no help from grants. Furthermore, a law enforcement impact fee proposed by the Sheriff will hopefully help the situation. Contrary to your belief, I have been around in this agency for a while. I just happen to like my job and like what I do. I've realized that it is impossible to rationalize with people in this agency. The problem with this agency is that the disgruntled members are suffering from confirmation bias. For those of you who do not know what that means, it’s a psychological term referring to a condition where people are inclined to search for evidence that will support their beliefs and refuse to look at the “other side.” I am going to continue going to work everyday and doing what I was hired to do. I don’t remember seeing hiding behind a computer and complaining about the agency and denouncing the Sheriff in my job description. We are all big boys and big girls. If you have a problem with someone or the way someone does something and you think you have a better way to do it tell that person. Don’t be a coward and hide behind your computer. If you hate the agency so much, leave and go somewhere else. Maybe they wont make you do directed patrols and will allow you to continue drawing lines in the sand. Otherwise I hope to see you running for Sheriff in 2008 and we’ll see if you can do a better job.

OK I am looking at your post and wondering why you might be hiding? I can't understand a word you are trying to say when all that sucking noise around you is so loud.

You fail to see that the things you have been told are not the truth and if you removed yourself from behind that desk you would see that everything being said here or at least most might be an issue to some degree.

You say that everyone fails to read what you have posted but then again I think there are several people reading exactly what you typed.

People are trying to tell this administration what is going on but they are being rebutted from being able to do so by every top administrator here, listen Sheriff people are trying to tell you that you have problems. Fix your issues or they will be fixed for you.