Surrounded by family, colleagues, elected officials and supporters, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings announced his intention to seek re-election on Tuesday evening.
Demings, who has held the position for three years, made the announcement at a news conference at the Orange County and Orlando Firefighters union hall on Orange Blossom Trail, where he summarized his efforts and achievements as the county’s top cop, before treating the gathering to drinks and hors d’oeuvres.
“Since I have taken office, there has been a three-year reduction in violent crime and overall crime is down as well in this community,” Demings said to a group of over 80 supporters. “In 2009, in my first year in office, violent crime was down 15.7 percent and the overall crime rate plummeted by 11.3 percent.” He added that violent crime had also decreased in 2010 by 8.4 percent and in 2011, year-to-date, crime is once again down by 5.3 percent.
Demings credited the success to several initiatives, including community policing programs and noted that the achievements had been accomplished in tough economic times. They could not have been possible without competent leadership and sound management practices, he added.
“While facing fiscal reductions in what our county commission had allocated to the Sheriff’s Office, we have managed to achieve these results and we have done so each year, operating under budget,” Demings said. “Yes, we have returned, in these three years that I have been Sheriff, $5.3 million to the taxpayers over that period.”
The sheriff pointed to other accomplishments that had contributed to the reduction in crime including, the opening of two new substations, one on I-Drive and the other in east Orange County, increased visibility of deputies, and the creation of targeted squads to help attack high crime in areas such as Pine Hills and east Orange County.
New technologies had been introduced to help deputies discharge their duties more effectively, Demings said.
“We have brought the Sheriff’s Office into the 21st Century with new computers, new radios in every car and GPS devices in each car to improve response times,” he said. “When our deputies are called upon to defend law abiding citizens, they do so with new tasers, new rifles, and new shot guns.” Demings added that over the last three years 3,000 guns had been taken off the streets of Orange County.
And cognizant of the nexus between crime reduction and successful youth programs, the Children’s Safety Village program had been reorganized and the D.A.R.E. Program abolished, replaced with a new innovative program, in partnership with Orange County Public Schools. We call the new instructional program the M.A.G.I.C. Program for our children, he said.
Demings had high praise for his deputies and the entire staff of the Sheriff’s Office, whom he said had accomplished “all this without pay increases, just like most of you in this room tonight.”
“And I am proud of all the men and women who serve in the Sheriff’s Office as they have helped the agency receive for the first time, national and state re-accreditation, with the highest honors ever awarded the Sheriff’s Office,” he said.
But even as Demings enumerated his accomplishments, he had some harsh words for his opponents in the race.
“While some in this race will use negative campaign tactics to avoid or run away from their record, we intend to run on our record,” he said. “This campaign, my candidacy and my work as Sheriff will not follow the beaten path of old ideas and old politics that we have grown accustomed to.”
Demings expressed confidence in his re-election bid, underscoring the values with which he was raised, as his 89-year-old mom and dad nodded their approval and the audience applauded.
“I know that with your support and because of what we have been able to achieve in the Sheriff’s Office these last three years, I am confident that the people of Orange County will reject the tired and worn out cliches, personal attacks and the desire by some in this race to turn the Orange County Sheriff’s Office into a hotbed of cronyism, rather than a meritocracy where you are hired and promoted based on how you perform or do your job,” he said.
I am confident when all is said and done, on the first Tuesday of November 2012, the people of Orange County will vote to retain our policies and approach in the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and I will be successful in seeking re-election as your sheriff, Demings added.
With that, Demings ended his speech and asked for support in his re-election bid.
