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Sheriff’s Office Increases Number Of Deputies In North Escambia
March 18, 2010
New deputies are now on the streets of North Escambia thanks to a federal economic stimulus program grant.
The five new patrol officers were added with the assistance of a $3.3 million, three-year grant that will fund 20 new Community Oriented Policing (COPS) positions in the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
“As promised to the citizens, the first officers under this program were sent to the north end,” Sheriff David Morgan said Wednesday.
The COPS grant federal funding ends in three years, but the Escambia County Commission committed last year to fund the positions for a fourth year at a cost to the county of $1.1 million.
“Out intention is to have the officers up there permanently,” Morgan said. “Sometimes based upon crime stats we will temporarily reassign officers to other areas, but our intent is always to send them back.”
In addition to regular patrols, officers in the new grant-funded positions will engage in community oriented policing activities. The officers will participate in problem oriented policing in conjunction with the Community Oriented Policing Unit, and investigating underlying issues in the community that could lead to criminal activity.
“One of the best law enforcement activities is having your officers integrated in the community,” Morgan said.
Deputies Jon Moore, Melissa Sterling, Mike Dekort, Mike Coburn and David Bashore will be the five new COPS officers in North Escambia. Morgan said area residents will recognize some of the officer names because they have worked in the area for some period of time, but they have been reassigned to the COPS positions. The patrol positions that they vacated have or will be filled to bring the Cantonment/Molino and Century precincts up to their full staffing level.
The overall law enforcement in presence in the Cantonment/Molino precinct will increase to a total of 20 deputies, and the total in the Century/Walnut Hill precinct will increase to 19.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced $1 billion in funding across the nation including $3,344,620 for the ECSO for 20 deputies in late July. The program includes $1 billion in grants to create or maintain 4,699 sworn officers nationwide under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Only four agencies in Florida — the Miami PD, Jacksonville PD, Polk County SO and Pasco County SO — received funding for more officers than Escambia County.
But the other area agencies that applied — the Flomaton Police Department, Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff’s Department, Poarch Creek Tribal Police Department and the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Department – received nothing. The Atmore Police Department did not apply for funds under the program.
Pictured: Deputy David Bashore makes an arrest in this file photo. Bashore is one of five COPS grant officers announced for North Escambia. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Comments
28 Responses to “Sheriff’s Office Increases Number Of Deputies In North Escambia”
Rural people are different than city (Pnsacola) people; arguebly we tend to be more religious, more frugal, more patriotic, more cautious, more compassionate of our neighbors, a higher sense of personal responsiblity – a different culture – different values. I believe that.
In my life, Military Service intensified and developed many of those values. Sheriff Morgan is a rural country-boy who joined the military As an enlisted man and moved up through the ranks to become an officer. I respect that.
I also know that when Janet Holly, who now wants to spend money renovating the old Molino School, Morgan decided to leave the substation in Century. Let me be quick to say that I believe we do need county government services offices in Molino – the geographic center of the county; but the Katrina refugees would not stay in that 70 year old building . . . But back to Morgan.
Yes, we will see if we keep the Deputies; this economy and political environment is a GAME CHANGER. like an on-side kick to start a new half-time – my bet is that Morgan will do the right thing at the right time. He has CHARACTER and that character is God Centered, strong, and GOOD (he has a righeous Moral Compass)!
As for me I stand with Morgan.
Mr. Moran, with all due respect, Sheriff Morgan you say has had humility in Victory, please………….he has the ego the size of a battleship. I do recall the night he won and the comment i remember him saying was something to the effect of ” I guess i am the ultimate insider now” His ego and cockiness should be toned down. I am not saying i do not like him, but anybody would be stupid if they said he was humble and showed humility.
Sheriff Morgan, now that you have put deputies in Molino and Century, please leave them up here. It took you almost a year from last May to get them up here. Keep your promise and let them stay. If you take one away from us you have broken your promise. We will not let you forget it come election time. But my guess is that you will take some away by Thanksgiving. Prove me wrong.
David Morgan (Sheriff) is one of the most honest persons I have ever known.
A man of Noble Honor and Integrity. I am proud to call him my Sheriff and my friend.
We need more elected officials of high character and education.
“Ye shall know a tree by it’s fruit”. Mr. Morgan (before he became Sheriff) once said “The first casualty of politics is what you were promised during the last election campaign”. I am glad to see David Morgan fulfilling his election promises! Even in the worst of economic times. I am thankful he (Morgan) had the COURAGE to run and the humility in Victory that he has shown. God Bless him.
Sheriff Morgan, we are proud of you and our new deputies in the Northend of the county. Thank you for keeping promises and remembering “the poor response times of the past administration ” as an opportunity for improvement to protect the citizens in the Northend of our county. You are a man of your word and have restored integrity & honor to the ECSO. Thank you.
Just build a donut shop and offer free coffee to the law inforcement and you will have the around when you need them.
Just kidding ya’ll, …..me have more crime and criminals around than we have law inforcement. People in communities need to watch out for each other. Know your neighbor. They maybe the very ones you need to watch.
PLEASE, don’t bash our sheriffs dept. until they fail us. They have done more since they took office than the previous administration did in all their years in office. From looking at todays news, we do need help up here. We are depending on you, Sheriff Morgan, here in Walnut Hill.
I find it amazing that so many people look at Good News through crap-colored glasses. I think our Sheriff has done a fine job so far – and this is evidence of it.
I just hope the Department/County file a civil suit to recover some of the one million plus dollars embezzelled out of the department’s budget – which happened over the leadership span of previous Sheriffs – quite some time…and how did prior leaders allow this thievery to happen right under their noses?
Keep up the GOOD WORK, David Morgan.
Strange that Sheriff Morgan makes these changes at budget time and even says if you would like to keep them attend mttgs. and voice against budget cuts. I do support no budget cuts. I am glad to see more officers in the century/walnuthill area and anyone that ever needed an officer was damn well happy to see them when they arrived. As for the Sheriff, I guess he could grow on you but it hasn’t happened for me yet.
Thanks to all the men and women who help to make us safer 24/7.
Mr Morgan,
I called YOU and you didn’t return any of my calls!!!!!!!!
You were always in a meeting, or gone!
I was even lead a merry chase from the minute your guys knew who
I was on the phone.
THE BAD GUYS ARE IN CHARGE HERE, AND EVERYONE DECENT KNOWS
IT!
You don’t want to know the truth!
AND THATS A FACT!
jj — oh heaven forbid they eat at Jaliscos in Atmore. That’s 1,000 feet from the Florida line. There response time would just stink to Davisville and Walnut Hill.
What difference does it make if they eat at Jaliscos in Atmore or Whatburger in Century? They are still covering this district. I, for one, would rather them eat at Atmore than in Century because they are closer to my house. People in Walnut Hill deserve coverage too.
I don’t think six at a time work, so I don’t know how you have seen that many anyway. You must be mistaking Escambia Alabama or perhaps the traffic unit from Escambia Florida for our regular guys in the north end.
Besides, if you get enough Jaliscos in you, you can run faster that afternoon.
It is nice to have the new officers here, but amazing when you walk into Jalisco’s in Atmore and see 6 deputies sitting at one table. How do they have time to respond in Century, McDavid, etc.
I AM GLAD TO SEE MR.MORGAN MAKING AN EFFORT FOR US HERE ON THE NORTH END. IT IS SO MUCH MORE THAN I HAVE SEEN FROM ANYONE BEFORE HIM. I FOR ONE APPRECIATE THE JESTURE.ANY HELP IS BETTER THAN WHAT WE HAD. ALSO I WANT TO THANK MR. KEVIN WHITE. HE HAS DONE MUCH FOR US ALL IN DIST. #5 BOTH OF THESE MEN NEED A HUGE PAT ON THE BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How about a Trooper…had a car wreck outside of century on Super Bowl Sunday while on the way to church…had to wait almost an hour (not exaggerating) for the trooper…was told by dispatcher at 911 it had to be a trooper, Sherrif Deputy was not authorized to do a traffic accident…wish they would either authorize the Deputy or give us a trooper…
Seems like fuzzy math to me.
Concerned Citizen-it’s likely that such activities as a sudden increase in gang activity, or a zealous theft ring, or community activity that brings large numbers of visitors for a brief period of time, or a large investigation might require that some deputies be temporarily reassigned to another area. I think it’s folly to assume that a Sheriff would compromise his reputation as a leader to simply make “feel good” proclamations. For the first time in many many years EC has a Sheriff that, by all indications, is actually interested in being a good Sheriff. But I can understand that with the county’s law enforcement history that might take some getting used to
“I know this is a little more difficult than pontificating over the ethernet”
haha it’s so much easier to complain about the issues via internet for some.
Personally, I am glad you’re stepping up to your promise and I look forward to seeing the crime rate on the north end dwindle down.
Now folks don’t go to gripping before you see how things are going to work. I think Mr. Morgan will do all he can to help us on the north end. I have faith and confidence in him. I can assure all the deputiesl they have their work cut out for them. I hope they catch Bonnie and Clyde first, but I hope they keep working on our drug problem in this area.
To All:
At the risk of letting “facts get in the way of opinions” I assure everyone that you now have 5 additional deputies, albeit that some of them have previously been assigned to the northend. You may call our patrol OIC to veryify this if you like. For “None of your business,” I encourage you to please contact any local, state or federal agency to report your suspicions. If they have merit, the applicable action will be taken.
As for crime stats, our county ranks in the following way,per County Commission District, highest to lowest; District 3, Distric 2, Districts 1-5 (no appreciable difference), and finally, District 4 (majority in City of Pensacola). Sorry that this doesn’t line up with your observations (anecdotal evidence), but these are the numbers. This same information was provided to all of the county commissioners.
As the stats indicate, I have 2 Districts with crime levels that far exceed District 5. So, “politically” this isn’t such a wise move. I directed this because of the long standing policies of ignoring issues in the northend of the county, and to assure the public that we are finally getting the patrol numbers where they should be based upon the expanse, i,e., response times.
Now that I have fulfilled my promise, might I ask something of you? We have just started the budgetary process with the ECSO Board of County Commissioners. As anticipated, there will once again be budget shortfalls. Can I reasonably expect all of you “anonymous bloggers” to attend the BOCC Meetings and advocate for retaining our current budget levels? So that we can keep the needed presence in the northend?
I know this is a little more difficult than pontificating over the ethernet, but it is what makes our government work, efficiently and effectively. It must be paticipatory. It will require you to put a face to the opinion and position you have chosen to take.
We shall see.
As always, thank you for your continued interest and oversight in the management of the ECSO.
David Morgan, Sheriff
Escambia County, FL
436-9512
I know B>S> when I here it!
Crime has always been up here.
These are the same officers who have taught every person who called to
stop calling. IF he wanted to do something about the situation up here,
he would send new officers.
Hey FBI, send someone here, we will tell you the real deal.
IF your listening to the powers that be. Your being taken for fools.
Deputies Jon Moore, Mike Dekort were transferred to Century and Deputy Sterling was transfered to Cantonment.
This is incorrect. Deputies Moore and Sterling were transfered to Molino/Cantonment. Deputy Dekort was moved from midnights in Molino/Cantonment to the COPS position. Another deputy took his place on midnights. Welcome to the new deputies. Thank you Sheriff Morgan for finally fulfilling your promise from a year ago. Hopefully these deputies will stay up here. We’ll see.
Harry,
I really don’t think anyone would be upset with you if you went ahead and killed someone who tried to rob you or broke into your home. Well maybe the left wingers would get a little nutty but as for most of the people in North Escambia, I think you would have support. Its bad when good people are afraid to protect their life and property from somone who is trying to hurt, rob, kill or steal from them.
Let’s do the math, Two deputies were transferred to Century, One deputy retired, so one deputy replaced that deputy, and the second deputy went to the COP program so in reality Century only got one deputy and that position will be re-evaluated in about six months. Watch and see.
Deputy Bashore and Coburn were already assigned to Century so they are not new. Deputies Jon Moore, Mike Dekort were transferred to Century and Deputy Sterling was transfered to Cantonment.
if the deputies get pulled from up here the county should just put a coroners office here instead. citizens here are getting tired of the crime and it is just a matter of time before someone gets killed robing, stealing, or breaking into someones home. the trend seems to continue and increase as well as the speeding on 97. just this morning at 7:45 a car passed me by EWMS and they must have been going 80 – 85 mph. I don’t even call them in anymore as it takes too long for officers to respond. lets hope these new officers stay up here!
Politics at its best….
> Here Morgan is setting it up to justify pulling these extra deputies away from us north end citizens. Watch and see.
Hopefully northescambia.com will watch and see. I know they’ve covered this since Morgan was walking around making campaign promises about more deputies up here. There have been several stories a long the way where they’ve quoted him as saying the deputies were coming as soon as some got out of the academy.
Thanks to Morgan to sending us the deputies we need. Thanks to northescambia for keeping an eye on him and letting us know when it happened. I hope northescambia will do another story in a few months and let us know if they are still here.
This is great news, welcome to the northend Deputies Jon Moore, Melissa Sterling, Mike Dekort, Mike Coburn and David Bashore… with as much crime that has been around here lately we need more of you around here thats for sure…
“Out intention is to have the officers up there permanently,” Morgan said. “Sometimes based upon crime stats we will temporarily reassign officers to other areas, but our intent is always to send them back.”
Here Morgan is setting it up to justify pulling these extra deputies away from us north end citizens. Watch and see.