Scott Swope Democratic Candidate for Pinellas County Sheriff P.O.

Box 1021 Palm Harbor, FL 34682-1021

Contact: Scott Swope 727-743-0800 SwopeforSheriff@gmail.com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Countywide sweep might reduce number of unserved warrants, Swope says

PALM HARBOR, Fla. (Sept. 10, 2012) Pinellas Countys interim sheriff, Bob Gualtieri, should consider taking a page from the Tampa Police Departments playbook and do a countywide sweep to serve some of Pinellas Countys 56,000 unserved warrants, Democratic sheriff candidate Scott Swope said Monday. Gualtieri revealed earlier this week that a huge number of arrest warrants, including thousands for serious felony crimes, remain unserved. Three years ago, in a cost-cutting move, Gualtieri abolished the unit that specialized in serving warrants. In the summer of 2011, Tampa took steps to reduce the number of their unserved warrants, and the total number of their warrants didnt amount to 10 percent of those now languishing in the Pinellas County Sheriffs Office, Swope said. In July 2011, the Tampa Police Department had so many unserved warrants that city officials believed a special warrant roundup was needed. They put into place Operation Summer Heat, a four-day roundup that was the biggest in the citys history. At the end of the first day, 33 warrants had been served, and 39 more had been cleared because the offenders were found to be either dead or already in prison. On that day, police officials concentrated on the most serious outstanding warrants in hopes of being more protective of public safety.

Tampa Police took the effort seriously; they wore tactical vests, because they knew about 10 percent of the wanted offenders were dangerous felons. Mayor Bob Buckhorn put on one of the vests and accompanied the officers. What were the numbers of warrants that motivated Tampa Police to take such action? Here are some of them:

Total number unserved warrants: Almost 6,000 Violent felony crimes: 459 Murder warrants: 8 But these numbers pale when compared to the unserved warrants across the bay in Pinellas County, where more than 10 times that number of warrants languish in the files of the Pinellas County Sheriffs Office. Here are some corresponding numbers in Pinellas County:

Total number unserved warrants: more than 56,000 Felony crimes: About 14,000 Violent felony crimes: ? Murder warrants: ? No one knows the exact number of violent felony or murder warrants because Gualtieri has failed to make those numbers public. Last week, Swope urged Gualtieri to release the details of the 56,000 unserved warrants, and to make Pinellas County residents aware of the potential dangers that face them. Gualtieri has not responded to that plea. Obviously, 56,000 unserved warrants is mind-boggling, Swope said. It is obviously an extremely serious threat to public safety. The city of Tampa put an almost-weeklong program in place to get the number of their unserved warrants under control, and their warrants didnt amount to 10 percent of ours. The unserved warrants issue came to light early this month, when Pinellas County deputies confronted a man, Gregory Johns, in a Treasure Island motel room. Johns was wanted for a number of alleged crimes, including a capital sexual battery charge involving the 11-year-old daughter of his girlfriend. Deputies shot and killed Johns when he brandished a knife. Later, it was learned that Johns had been wanted on a felony warrant that had been issued a yearand-a-half earlier. The warrant was not served until July 2012 a month after he had allegedly sexually attacked the girl several times.

When asked, Gualtieri said that to draw a connection between the Johns case and the unserved warrants was silly. Theres nothing silly about expecting a wanted felon with a history of violence to commit more violent crimes when hes allowed to roam free for nearly a year-and-a-half, said Swope. Its not silly, its tragic. Scott Swope is the Democratic candidate for sheriff, running against Bob Gualtieri, the interim sheriff appointed by Gov. Rick Scott. Swope, a former traffic homicide investigator and magistrate, is running on a platform focused on violent crimes, traffic safety, crimes against seniors and children, human trafficking, and responsible gun ownership. He has broad support across party lines includes numerous current and former elected officials, the AFL-CIO, and the Libertarian Party of Pinellas County. -0Editors note: For additional information or comments, please contact Scott Swope at 727743-0800 or at SwopeforSheriff@gmail.com .

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