The Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office (SRSO) is the primary law enforcement agency of Santa Rosa County, Florida. Both the cities of Gulf Breeze and Milton operates their own LEOs (law enforcement organization); however, the sheriff's office operates the majority of law enforcement operations within Milton. SRSO is headed by a sheriff, who serves a four-year term and is elected in a partisan primary election.[1]
Sheriff Bob Johnson has been employed with SRSO since 1993. He was elected as Sheriff in 2016 and sworn in on January 3, 2017.[2] He is a longstanding member of the county's SWAT Team and formerly held the post of SWAT Team Commander. During his employment with the agency Bob has been the member of the following units: Major Crimes Detective, Narcotics Supervisor, D.A.R.E School Resource Officer, Juvenile Unit Supervisor, Patrol Corporal, Patrol Sergeant, Evening Shift Watch Commander, Navarre District Commander, Internal Affairs, Administrative Captain, Criminal Investigations Division Commander, Fleet Operations and Public Information Officer.
Chief Deputy
Current Chief Deputy Sheriff: Joe McCurdy
Joe McCurdy was appointed as Chief Deputy Sheriff on June 9, 2018.[3]
Command Staff:
Assistant Chief Shane Tucker,
Colonel Randy Tifft,
Major Chris Watson,
Major Douglas Bringmans
Administration Staff:
Patrol Division: Captain Jason Erlemann
Investigative Division: Captain Blevin Davis/Lieutenant Scott Jones
Professional Standards: Captain Wayne Enterkin
Administration: Captain Scott Haines
Public Information Officer: Sgt. Rich Aloy
[4]
District Field Offices:
District One - Gulf Breeze Area:
District Two - Navarre Area:
District Three - Pace Area:
District Four - East Milton Area:
District Five - Jay Area :
SRSO Units (in abc order)
- Court Security
- Crime Analysis
- Crime Scene
- Field Training
- Honor Guard
- K-9 Unit
- Major Crimes
- Marine / Dive
- Media Relations
- Narcotics
- SWAT
- Traffic
Rank structure
Insignia
Rank Title
Information
Sheriff
Elected official and commander of the SRCSO.
Chief Deputy
Second-in-command of the SRCSO and responsible for day-to-day operations.
Assistant Chief Deputy
Third-in-command of the SRCSO.
Colonel
Commander of Detentions and Operations.
Major
Commander of a Bureau.
Captain
Commander of a Division.
Lieutenant
Commander of a District or Unit.
Sergeant
Commander of a shift or Squad.
Deputy
Services Provided for Citizens
Citizens' Law Enforcement Academy
Volunteer Program
Civilian Observer ( please see website for requirements )
The sheriff's office has a television show, hosted by Sheriff Johnson and Sgt. Rich Aloy on Blab TV, entitled "INSIDE SRSO". It is broadcast on Blab TV (Cox Channel 1006).[11]
Postcard-only policy
In 2010, Sheriff Wendell Hall instituted a policy that prohibited inmates from sending mail in enclosed envelopes, with the exception of privileged and legal mail. All regular correspondence was required to be done by postcard. An inmate at the jail named Marcie Hamilton filed suit against the sheriff on behalf of the class of inmates at the jail, arguing the policy violated their rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the US Constitution. The Sheriff rescinded this policy just before the suit went to trial, and the parties settled in February 2012.[12]