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Sarasota News Leader June 21, 2013 Page 12 careers in Maryland law enforcement before coming to Sarasota. While the Police Department and Sheriff's Office do work together, Knight said, "that doesn't mean that one agency is the primary responder" with the other agency to be considered backup. The number of assists his office has been providing the Police Department over the past couple of months has been "inordinate," he emphasized. It has been an unusual situation not just for him since he became sheriff but for his staff members, some of whom have been with the office for 31 years, Knight pointed out. When he took office in 2009, Sheriff Tom Knight implemented a program designed to prevent crime. Image courtesy Sheriff's Office "If the city doesn't think they're going to have the resources for the future, they need to let me know now," he added. The Sheriff's Office's annual report for 2012 showed crime dropped more than 16 percent In an interview with the News Leader, Mayor that year compared to 2011. Shannon Snyder — who had a 25-year career with the Sheriff's Office before retiring — said Yet, according to the last data he had seen if he had sufficient votes, he would eliminate — from 2010 — Snyder said Knight has 1.3 the Police Department and turn over all city of officers per 1,000 people compared to the city Sarasota law enforcement responsibilities to figure of 3.3 officers, or, as Snyder put it: "onethe Sheriff's Office. "In my personal opinion, third of the personnel; half the crime [of the the sheriff would do a better job," he added. city]." Because of Knight's intelligence-led policing approach, Snyder pointed out, Knight has reduced crime significantly in the county. A report released earlier this year showed that since Knight took office, Sarasota County has had the largest reduction in crime for all counties in Florida with a population of 100,000 or more. However, Snyder said, "We don't have the management team [in the city] to correct this [situation]." Snyder added that he was referring to "the city manager on down … [but] I'm the only one screaming this." % The Sarasota News Leader No-Nonsense Reporting