From the Desk of Sheriff Bob Gualtieri
You may think that picking up your phone and texting a loved one while driving is no big deal, but all it takes is a couple of seconds of distraction to cause a motor vehicle accident. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that sending or reading a text takes your eyes off the road for five seconds, which is like driving the length of a football field at 55 mph with your eyes closed.
According to EverDrive, an app that monitors people’s driving behavior to give auto insurance discounts, Florida ranked as the second to worst state for using a phone behind the wheel last year. In addition, 44 percent of the drives studied contained at least one distracted driving occurrence. This percentage was higher than the totals for speeding, aggressive acceleration, harsh braking, and poor turning. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles also found that in 2018, more than 170 crashes were caused by people who were texting and driving.
Due to these overwhelming statistics and reports of fatal crashes involving texting and driving, the Florida State Legislature passed a bill to make texting and driving a primary offense. Starting July 1st, if a driver is caught texting while the vehicle is in motion, Pinellas County law enforcement officers can give the person a nonmoving violation that adds three points to their driver’s license. First-time offenders may elect to complete a distracted driving safety program to forego these points.
Further, if the person is holding a wireless communication device—such as a phone, tablet, or game—while operating a moving motor vehicle in a designated school zone, work zone, or school crossing, they can also receive a citation. Initially, when this particular hands-free law goes into effect October 1st, deputies will give drivers warnings for this offense. But come January 1, 2020, they will receive a ticket, which will add three points to their driver’s license.
Pinellas County residents may still use their phones for navigation, making emergency phone calls and messages, and checking weather alerts. They can also text if the vehicle is stopped at a red light, or is stationary in standstill traffic.
However, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office encourages hands-free driving at all times to keep everyone on the road safe. Commit yourself to saving lives by never texting or using your phone while driving. If you see others distracted in their vehicles, encourage them to put their phones away.
If you drive and text, you pay. But remember, you could pay the ultimate price of injuring yourself or others. Here are a few alternatives to using a cell phone in your vehicle:
--Use a Bluetooth device that allows you to communicate without using your hands.
--Buy a car, or update your current vehicle, with a voice-activated navigation and phone system.
-- Put your phone on silent when you enter your vehicle to avoid the temptation to text and drive.
Remember, just drive. The rest can wait.
Floridians spend half the year on the lookout for hurricanes. When June approaches, it’s time to do an annual check-up on your hurricane preparedness.
First, know in which evacuation zone you live. There are many ways to find out: visit www.pinellascounty.org to look up your area, or download the free Ready Pinellas App on your mobile device. The Pinellas County Interactive Hurricane Evacuation Inquiry Line is also available to answer any emergency-related questions: 727-453-3150.
In the event of a hurricane warning, emergency management and public safety officials will communicate important messages to the community through broadcast news, social media, and the radio. It’s crucial to monitor these communication channels so that you know if you need to evacuate.
Follow @PinellasCounty on Instagram, @PinellasCountyNews on Facebook, or @PinellasCoNews on Twitter so that if a disaster strikes, you’ll see important information in your news feed. You can also follow the #getreadypinellas hashtag to instantly view hurricane preparedness tips and significant alerts. For additional information from law enforcement, follow the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office on Facebook @PinellasSheriff, or Twitter @SheriffPinellas.
If you live in the barrier islands, register for an emergency access permit, which allows you to re-enter your residential area after the storm. When a mandatory evacuation order is lifted, law enforcement officials will scan this card at designated re-entry points.
To see if your city is included in the barrier islands, and to register for your permit, visit www.pcsoweb.com/emergency-access-permit, or call the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office non-emergency line at 727-582-6200. If you have an emergency access permit, you do not need to register for it again. Don’t wait until there is an emergency evacuation order to get your permit; they are available all year and are accessible through your city government.
Next, make travel plans in case you must evacuate, or you determine that your home can’t withstand hurricane-force winds. Stay with trusted family members and friends, if possible.
As a last resort, you can evacuate to an emergency shelter. A few of them are specifically designated for citizens with special needs. If you need transport assistance to any Pinellas County shelter, register in advance online: www.pinellascounty.org/specialneeds. For a full list of shelters, visit www.pinellascounty.org/emergency, or call the Citizen Information Center at 727-464-4333.
Lastly, create a hurricane survival kit that includes a battery-powered radio, water, flashlights, batteries, non-perishable food items, and a first-aid kit.
Sometimes Pinellas County ends up in the path of a hurricane, and other times we miss the storm. No matter what happens, stay prepared and informed this hurricane season.
You can never be too prepared when you take a journey out onto the water. In Pinellas County, boating is one of the top and most frequent activities in the spring and summer months. However, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, thousands of boating accidents happen every year throughout the country. The most recent report from 2017 shows that there were 4,291 recreational boating accidents in the United States resulting in 658 deaths, 2,629 injuries, and $46 million in property damages.
Out of the victims who drowned, 84.5 percent were not wearing a life jacket, and alcohol use was the leading known contributing factor in fatal boating accidents. This means that preventing death and injury when taking your boat out is as simple as wearing a life jacket and not operating your vessel under the influence.
Aside from these two very important safety rules, we do advise Pinellas County citizens to also follow the following tips during boating season.
Words of love can change a life, but actions speak louder than words. Come February, many people focus their attention on exchanging valentines that share how much they love each other. But do you consider how you are showing love to others by your everyday lifestyle?
The home can be the most challenging place to display love. At the sheriff’s office, we sadly get many reports of domestic violence and child abuse. Even though parents try their hardest to keep their kids safe, turbulent marriages, stressful environments, and other dire circumstances can interfere with the level of care given to them.
In 2018, the most investigated child deaths in Pinellas County were caused by accidental drowning, followed by positional asphyxia, medical-related deaths, suicide, and murder.
Creating a safe space in your home for a child—both physically, mentally, and emotionally—takes foresight, planning, and love. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about one in five people who die from drowning are children 14-years-old and younger. Some tips to prevent unintentional drowning are:
In addition, monitoring your child’s activity on social media and any communication with friends and family members will help address bullying and the mental or emotional trauma caused by abuse. Child suicides have been on the rise between 2008 and 2016, the CDC reported, some of which were followed by episodes of bullying.
At the sheriff’s office, we provide educational events for the community to help parents navigate the often confusing and stressful technological climate children live in. These opportunities require your time and motivation.
Lastly, abusive head trauma too often follows episodes of anger and frustration. If you find yourself in a dangerous emotional state that could cause harm to your child, take a break and call a trusted friend or family member to help you. Remember that you are never alone and there is always someone who can help you navigate the pressures and anxieties of raising a child.
If you have reason to believe that a child you know is being abused, neglected, or abandoned, call the Florida Abuse Hotline at 1-800-962-2873. If you suspect or know of a child in immediate danger, call 911.
This Valentine’s Day, tell your children that you love them, but also show them that love by being intimately involved in their lives and taking the necessary precautions for their safety and wellbeing.
What is your New Year’s resolution for 2019? Some people focus on losing weight and living a healthier lifestyle while others may want to go back to school or simply get their homes more organized. Whatever you desire to do this year, we encourage Pinellas County citizens to add staying safe to their list of resolutions.
At the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, our priority is keeping everyone safe. As much as law enforcement officers work hard to protect the county, it is also every person’s responsibility to take precautionary measures to ensure his or her own safety.
So that’s why we invite you to adopt these safety resolutions for a safe 2019:
1. Stay aware of relevant, up-to-date information by using the Nextdoor app. Last year, the sheriff’s office joined Nextdoor—a mobile platform that helps you get to know your neighbors, community, and local law enforcement. After signing up, you are assigned to your neighborhood and can see local alerts about recent crime, as well as community concerns—like if someone’s dog is lost or there is a strange person knocking on doors late at night. Joining this online community will not only help you form relationships with neighbors so you can rely on each other in case of emergencies, but also quickly respond to local threats. Nextdoor is free, so there’s no cost to being actively involved in your community.
2. Establish the 9 p.m. routine. For the past few years, law enforcement agencies around the country have joined the social media movement #9PMRoutine to encourage people to lock their homes and car doors before bed every night. Simply by making sure every door on your property is locked up by 9 p.m., burglaries can easily be prevented. Not only are you protecting your valuables, but you are also playing an important role in your community to prevent crime.
3. Sign up for the Pinellas County Crime Viewer to learn about crimes and emergencies in your area. If you have ever wondered what crimes are happening in your neighborhood, you can use the Crime Viewer website to see all kinds of activity on a map, including burglaries, traffic accidents, and domestic violence reports. All you need to do is go to the website at www.pinellascounty.org/crimeviewer, then type in your address and email and you will receive police reports directly to your inbox listing any crime going on around you. By staying informed, you can help protect yourself and family and friends from relevant threats near your home.
This year, make a New Year’s resolution that will protect you, your belongings, and your community. On behalf of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, Happy New Year!
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office has a rich history filled with heroism, hardship, and even humor. For years, we have housed pieces of our heritage in the lobby of the Sheriff’s Administration Building. Now, we have a second location to display more of these items at the Lowe House in Heritage Village in Largo.
A living history museum just down the road from our administration building is the perfect place to showcase important artifacts and information about former sheriffs and milestones in law enforcement.
The Lowe House, where the exhibit is located, was built in 1888 and gives visitors a glimpse into what life looked like for the early settlers of Pinellas County. Wesley Lowe and his wife, kids, and father lived in this house in Anona under Pinellas County’s first sheriff, Marvel Whitehurst, until the 1930s. The McMullen brothers’ homes are also in Heritage Village; they were prominent figures throughout Pinellas County’s law enforcement history. We feel privileged to honor those who have served the agency in this historic setting.
The Portraits of a Sheriff gallery begins in 1912 with, “The Formative Years,” of the sheriff’s office when the first courthouse and jail was built. The original county patrol officers focused on guarding the citrus groves from thieves and investigating moonshine stills.
Visitors then enter into the next era of law enforcement by walking through old cell doors from our second jail—which housed inmates from 1918 to 1950. This room that focuses on Pinellas County Sheriff’s from 1953 to 1972 is called “A Changing Force,” and displays a uniform from our patrol officers in the 1960s, a helmet that officers had to wear to protect them from rioters, and one of our first computers.
The community of Pinellas County witnessed major milestones during this time period, including the first female deputy, the first African-American deputy, and our first K-9—a bloodhound named Spotlight.
The next 30 years shaped the modernization of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. After 1972, the organization expanded services by adding the flight, marine, and K-9 units. In addition to displaying photos of some of our greatest accomplishments, like the narcotics seizure of the 1980s when officers found cocaine inside cedar planks, we also have more lighthearted photos involving community engagement. After Star Wars came out in 1977, the sheriff’s office used Darth Vader in schools to encourage kids to stay safe and prevent crime.
Our hope is that the families of Pinellas County will be enlightened and inspired by this unique telling of our sheriffs’ history. There is something for everyone to learn—even the kids can stay engaged by playing an interactive detective game.
The doors of the Lowe House are open, and we invite the citizens of Pinellas County to take a journey through the history of our sheriffs and their staff who have had, and continue to have, a large impact on people’s lives.
Heritage Village is free to the public and is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on Sundays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
With November’s arrival comes a year’s worth of holiday anticipation and anxious preparation.
As we begin fighting the crowds at shopping malls and filling our calendars with decadent family meals and holiday events, it can be easy to forget that some families struggle to provide even the most basic necessities.
Although several organizations coordinate holiday fundraisers and charity events, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office has the unique opportunity to give back to children and families with whom they have met and interacted, sometimes on multiple occasions.
Putting names and faces to the recipients of our holiday giving is added incentive to PCSO members who dedicate additional time and effort to benefitting the less fortunate during the season.
For what is the 15th consecutive year, this month, the Sheriff’s Office will kick off the holiday giving season through a partnership with the Indian Rocks Beach Rotary Club, Beach Community Food Pantry at Calvary Episcopal Church, Pinellas Suncoast Fire Rescue District, and Publix.
The partnership aims to limit the number of families who go hungry by delivering food to families who otherwise could not afford traditional holiday meals around Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter.
Volunteers load patrol cars with hearty Publix meals, including items like fully cooked turkeys, cornbread, mashed potatoes, green beans, loaves of bread, and more, and deputies deliver them to families whom they have identified in their daily work within the community.
Once we finish off the pumpkin pie and pack up the cornucopia, the PCSO sets its sights on hosting the largest law enforcement-organized holiday charity fundraiser in the Tampa Bay Area, which has raised more than $500,000 in donations and proceeds since its inception 25 years ago.
On Saturday, December 1st, Ride & Run With The Stars will celebrate its silver anniversary with the customary day’s worth of family activity including a 5K chipped race, 10K and 25-mile bike rides, a “Challenge” 5K run and 25-mile bike ride combination, and a “Family Fun” 1-mile walk or skate.
Post-race activities include the opportunity to refuel with food truck fare, a Kids Zone with arts and crafts and a climbing wall, a fly-in visit from Mr. and Mrs. Claus on the Sheriff’s Office helicopter, and a silent auction with tables full of gift baskets, vacation tickets, gift certificates, and more.
The only thing more rewarding than a day of family exercise and activity is knowing that the proceeds support the Sheriff’s Christmas Sharing Project, through which PCSO members use the money raised to shop for holiday gifts, clothing, food, and other necessities for families in need.
Like the food drive partnership, the gift packages assembled during Ride & Run With The Stars’ shopping day are hand-delivered by familiar-faced deputies.
If you are interested in getting involved with Ride & Run With The Stars, whether by registering for a race, ordering a t-shirt or Silver Anniversary Challenge Coin, sponsoring the event, or making a donation, contact Lieutenant Joe Gerretz at 727-582-6287, and visit www.rideandrunwiththestars.com for more information.
In the meantime, let the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office be the first to wish you happy thanksgiving, happy holidays, and happy giving!
This Halloween, think both creativity AND safety. As important as it is to WOW 'em with your clever ingenuity, costumes should also be sensible: If your children are planning to wear masks, make sure they can see clearly while wearing them. Even if it doesn't fit their characters, ensure your children travel with a flashlight so they can see where they're going, and attach reflective tape to their costumes so that vehicles and the witches, zombies, and ghouls can see them coming.
Although, as always, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office will be on the lookout, there are a number of precautions you and your families can take to ensure everyone comes home safely. While you are unleashing your creative side, take note of these 10 safety tips to keep both adults and children safe this year:
Trick-or-Treating
At Home
Last but not least: Don’t eat too much candy – you’ll thank us later!
Non Emergency Line: (727) 582-6200 | In an Emergency call 911ADA info