Sarasota News Leader

06/28/2013

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Sarasota News Leader June 28, 2013 Thanks to Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight's implementation of an Intelligence Led Policing program since he was first elected in 2008, the county has seen a 25 percent reduction in crime. The decrease from 2012 over 2011 was 18 percent, and the crime rate was down another 14 percent for the first quarter of 2013, Knight told the County Commission during its June 21 budget workshop. Almost as great a point of pride for him, Knight noted, is the fact that citizen complaints coming into his office have declined 22 percent over the past four years. Because of the effectiveness of the Intelligence Led Policing (ILP) program, Knight also Page 15 wants to provide pay raises to the sergeants and lieutenants who carry most of the load, he told the commission — "the law enforcement individuals I believe are responsible for our crime decrease." He is seeking $91,873,196 for the 2014 fiscal year, while his current budget is $86,554,672. However, Knight pointed out, $3,546,424 of the projected expenses for the new fiscal year, which will begin Oct. 1, are beyond his control, including a $1.7 million hike in payments to the Florida Retirement System. Because most of his employees are in the "special risk" category for health benefits, the Sheriff's Of- A graph compares expenses for the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office for the current fiscal year and FY 2014. Image courtesy Sheriff's Office

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