Mismanagement of the PCSO must end

Perhaps the most important issue in this years campaign for Sheriff of Pinellas County is the mismanagement of the department. This mismanagement has been chronic during the Gualtieri regime, but in reality it reaches back several years before Bob Gualtieri took over as interim sheriff. This mismanagement became much more evident when tax revenues declined and budgets had to be reduced. When tax dollars are flowing and budgets are flush, mismanagement is not so easily discerned. But when millions of dollars have to be chopped from the budget, tough and enlightened management is needed to protect the public safety and provide necessary services. Unfortunately, this has not been the case with the PCSO, and money has been wasted at a time when every dollar is precious. Here are some examples:
1.

NON-VIOLENT CRIME: Law enforcement priorities have to be determined and put in place when operating budgets become tighter. The major motivating issue in times such as these is public safety. Violent crime (and violent criminals) should be the #1 priority for the PCSO, but unfortunately this has not been the case. An example is the lengthy investigation into Internet sweepstakes cafes within Pinellas County. The Sheriffs Office under Bob Gualtieri has spent a huge amount of time and money on an investigation of these Internet cafes, and it has closed three of them. While this was going on in Pinellas County,

legislators in Tallahassee were working hard to pass new laws to legalize gambling activities in these establishments. While Interim Sheriff Gualtieri succeeded in closing some of these establishments, no one has been successfully prosecuted, and it seems unlikely that anyone ever will be.

2.

MISPLACED DRUG INVESTIGATIONS: The Sheriffs Office spent more than two years on surveillance activities of a Largo-based hydroponics store (Hydroponics is the process of growing plants in sand, gravel, or liquid, but without soil). The theory was that people who grow marijuana in grow houses are likely to purchase supplies at hydroponics stores. The Sheriffs Office mounted a surveillance camera on a nearby pole and recorded the license plate numbers of cars parked outside the store. Deputies then traced the plate numbers and visited the homes of the stores customers. They sometimes sought entry without warrants, or in some cases obtained warrants under false pretenses.

3.

POOR INTERNAL OVERSIGHT: The Sheriffs Offices Narcotics Unit was the subject of multiple internal investigations; narcotics deputies were suspected of trespassing to gather evidence about alleged marijuana grow houses. That investigation resulted in drug charges being dropped against at least 18 people. The Tampa Bay Times said, How vigorously the Sheriff's Office questioned other officers may not become clear for months because Gualtieri declined to release about 9,000 pages of interviews and other internal affairs documents that the investigation generated.

What these incidents have in common is an obvious and startling lack of good judgment and management at the top of the Sheriffs Office. We cannot expect good results within the department as long as we see this sort of performance. Its time to restore the kind of management practices in the Sheriffs Office that the people of Pinellas County deserve.

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