Glades County Sheriff's Office

Glades County Sheriff's Office

Public safety should be of utmost concern to the citizens of Florida, especially at this time of economic uncertainty. Decisions are sometimes made that seem unimportant at time, but actually have a far reaching impact. The Florida Legislature is proposing a number of bills in the upcoming session concerning law enforcement, crimes and confined criminals that will greatly burden the County Sheriff’s efforts to continue to provide the level of law enforcement and protection our citizens expect and deserve.

Senate Bill 484 and Senate Bill 183 (House Bill 23) are two proposals with detrimental and undesirable outcomes the Florida Legislature will be considering.

SB484: This Legislation would allow early release of certain inmates; 50 years of age or older, as long as they have served 25 years of their sentence. Anyone who was convicted, sentenced, and had served the 25 years, committed a very serious crime, such as rape, robbery, or assault. These are not the types of individuals we want back out on the streets. Let’s not forget about the victims of these crimes whose lives were changed forever.

SB184: This Legislation would reduce the sentence of dangerous youthful offenders under certain circumstances. Youth offenders are 15 years old or younger at the time of committing the crime, and have been convicted and sentenced as an adult to long sentences for very serious crimes. Early release would send the wrong message to our youths and result in an already growing problem becoming even worse. When a minor is sentenced as an adult, it was a heinous crime that was committed.

You may remember back before the minimum-mandatory sentences and the 85 per cent rule. Crime was a revolving door, with the criminals in and out of prison, back on the streets, committing crimes at an alarming rate. This is not the time to go back to the “way it was”. Let’s keep the criminals where they belong, behind bars, in prison. I encourage you to read these proposed bills and make your voices heard. Let your legislators know you are opposed to both of the bills.

Sheriff Stuart Whiddon

WE SUPPORT

Pardons/Restoration of Rights/Rosa Parks Act
- SB 826

Methamphetamine Pharmaceutical Products/Sale
- SB 1050

Collective Bargaining for Certain Public Employees
- HB 417
- SB 610

Medical Expenses of Inmates Paid by a County or Municipality
- HB 319
- SB 218

Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Act
- HB 325
- SB 294

Pretrial Proceedings
- HB 89
- SB 300

Adult Protective Services
- HB 91
- SB 336

Sexual Offenders and Predators
- HB119

Juvenile Justice
- HB211

Disability Retirement Benefits
- SB162

Required Advertisements and Public Notices
- SB376

Special Organized Crime Investigators
- SB502

State Child Abuse Death Review Committee
- SB 7002

WE OPPOSE

Expunging Criminal History Records
- HB 541
- Reason we oppose: We oppose any legislation that would create an automatic expungement of criminal records.

Parole for Adolescent Offenders
- HB 23
- SB 184
- Reason we oppose: These bills would reduce the sentence of dangerous youthful offenders, diminishing the deterrent value of prison and resulting in more juvenile crime.

Elderly Inmates
- SB 484
- Reason we oppose: This bill would grant early release to certain inmates 50-years-old or older. Regardless of age, these inmates are in prison to safeguard the public, and reducing their sentence would do an injustice to the suffering of their victims and make our community less safe. Additionally, inmates who would be released under this bill would only be monitored electronically for one year and the families of the victims wouldn't be consulted during the review process.

Restraints/Use During Juvenile Proceedings
- SB 242
- Reason we oppose: This bill would reduce courtroom security throughout the state.

NOTE: Be sure to check back on this site. After the above bills are debated, we will be posting information on how our Legislators voted.

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