The Laker/Lutz News

Pasco Sheriff's Office

A safety evaluation can help to protect your home and property

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The Pasco Sheriff’s Office encourages citizens to complete a home safety evaluation, to help protect your home and property from intruders and thieves, according to a news release.

Break-ins can occur within seconds, especially when it comes to empty houses.

The PSO offers these safety tips, even if you aren’t on vacation and away from home for an extended period of time:

  • Ensure all exterior doors have working locks
  • Ensure all windows have working locks
  • Keep spare keys with a trusted neighbor, not near the door
  • Secure bikes in a shed or garage, or be sure they are locked up
  • Have a functioning light near all exterior doors
  • Ensure gate latches and fences are in good working condition
  • Consider a secondary lock for sliding glass doors
  • Keep outdoor plants near windows trimmed, to eliminate hiding places
  • Ensure items like grills, lawn mowers or other valuables are secured when not in use
  • Remove valuables and lock your car doors each night

For the most current PSO news, visit News.PascoSheriff.com.

Published January 05, 2022

Pasco Sheriff’s Office starts community news website

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The Pasco Sheriff’s Office has launched a community news website, news.PascoSheriff.com. The website allows citizens to access news directly from the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, according to a news release.

In addition to its social media platforms, the Sheriff’s Office will share breaking news on the website.

The website features PSO community alerts, investigations, missing people and upcoming events, the release from the Sheriff’s Office says.

Citizens can sign up for news updates sent directly to their email.

Periodically, Pasco Sheriff’s News will send email newsletters highlighting recent PSO features. When urgent community alerts arise, breaking news notification emails also will come straight to the subscribers’ inbox.

Published December 29, 2021

Webinar sheds light on human trafficking

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While the COVID-19 pandemic captures headlines, human trafficking is a societal crisis that’s often hidden in the shadows, according to public safety experts.

Human trafficking occurs when one human exploits another human being, for a commercial purpose. Often described as “modern day slavery,” it involves traffickers using force, fraud or coercion to recruit, transport, transfer or harbor people.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates there are about 40 million human trafficking victims globally.

That figure may be conservative, though, as other groups have pegged the number closer to 60 million victims, said retired Pasco Sheriff’s Cpl. Alan Wilkett, an expert in the study of human trafficking.

Retired Pasco Sheriff’s Office Cpl. Alan Wilkett was the featured guest speaker during a Dec. 7 webinar titled, ‘Human Trafficking: How does it affect your community?’ Wilkett spent 25 years working in law enforcement, including devoting the past several to fighting human trafficking as commander of the Pasco County Human Trafficking Task Force. He was awarded the 2017 Florida Human Trafficking Law Enforcement Official of the Year from former Florida state Attorney General Pam Bondi. (Courtesy of The Human Trafficking Foundation)

The statistics are staggering and the personal costs enormous.

“When you talk about those numbers (of victims), every single one of those is a human being,” Wilkett said. “A human being with a heart, a mind, with dreams, hopes, ambitions. They dreamed of being something, whatever that something was for them.”

Wilkett was the featured speaker on a Dec. 7 webinar presented by the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, Florida’s Forensic Institute for Research, Security & Tactics, and Saint Leo University’s department of public safety administration.

The webinar — “Human Trafficking: How does it affect your community?”— was facilitated by Dr. Karin May, an assistant professor for the department of criminal justice at Saint Leo.

She chairs the Mel Greene Institute for the Prevention of Human Trafficking.

Human trafficking, May said, is “a public health issue that impacts individuals, families and communities.”

The impacts are widespread, she said. “It’s not just international. It’s here, and it’s in our communities.”

Wilkett spent 25 years in law enforcement, including the past several focused on fighting human trafficking. He was commander of the Pasco County Human Trafficking Task Force.

In 2017, he received the Florida Human Trafficking Law Enforcement Official of the Year from then Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Commercial sex trafficking and labor trafficking are the predominant forms of human trafficking, but there are 20 different forms, Wilkett said. Others include forced marriage, involuntary servitude, and domestic servitude.

Wilkett’s talk centered on commercial sex trafficking, which involves exchanging a sex act for something of commercial value, such as money, drugs or shelter.

America is regarded as a “top-tier consuming country” — in terms of human trafficking for sex and labor, he said.

States reporting the greatest number of cases are California, Texas and Florida, he said.

Areas particularly at-risk are the eastern and western seaboard, and borders along the Gulf of Mexico. And, sex trafficking is predominant in larger cities, via strip clubs, brothels and illicit massage businesses, he added.

Hot spots in Florida include Miami, Orlando, Jacksonville, Fort Myers/Naples and the Tampa Bay region, he said, based on the volume of calls made to the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline.

Beware of digital gateways
An alarming revelation shared during the webinar involves the pervasive presence of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) that is being discovered on social media outlets and other electronic service providers.

Girls are featured in the overwhelming majority of CSAM, while prepubescent children are at the greatest risk to be depicted — through explicit drawings, pictures or videos, Wilkett said.

In 2020, there were more than 21.7 million reports of CSAM across digital platforms to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) CyberTipline.

Of that, over 20 million reports came from Facebook alone.

Google reported 546,704; Snapchat, 144,095; Twitter, 65,062; and TikTok, 22,692.

While noting Facebook has reported immense numbers, Wilkett is skeptical about the accuracy of the reporting by the other applications.

“Twenty million from Facebook, and you only have 144,000 from Snapchat. Seriously?” Wilkett said.

He took Big Tech to task for contributing to the problem and said it’s time for them to be held accountable.

This heat map reflects the number of calls made to the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline in 2020. This map only reflects cases where the location of potential trafficking was known. Some cases may involve more than one location. (Courtesy of Polaris Project)

Traffickers altering tactics
The expert on human trafficking also detailed shifts in the ways that predators groom, recruit and traffick adults and children.

Some statistics estimate that 60% of all trafficking happens online, but Wilkett suspects that figure is low.

“Predators want to be where the kids are,” he said, noting that means they want to be on social media, apps, and gaming systems.

Previously, predators primarily targeted playgrounds, malls, and bus stops, he said.

Those remain threat environments, he said, but added: “If the kids are hanging out online, that’s exactly where the predators are going to be.”

Wilkett said parents and guardians need to know about encrypted messaging systems and vault apps that children may have on their smartphones or other devices, to hide certain material, conversations and contacts.

There are many of these apps, he said, while specifically mentioning WhatsApp, Wickr, Telegram, Signal, and Calculator+.

Traffickers also have become more creative in branding and marketing various services, he said.

Emojis, for instance, have become “very prominent” within sex trafficking.

Traffickers use dating websites, and provide a false description followed by emojis to let buyers know what they’ll be getting.

So, instead of it being, say, a 21-year-old female being advertised, traffickers include a lollipop or growing heart emoji — to signify a young boy or girl is available for commercial sex.

Traffickers and pimps who previously branded their victims with tattoos to indicate ownership are no longer doing that because they realize that law enforcement and communities had caught on to that trend.

Instead, they incorporate soft branding — particularly on minors — in the form of necklaces, charm bracelets, wristbands and ankle bracelets.

Those usually contain a symbol, charm, emblem, number, phrase or word with a unique meaning, perhaps a lion’s head or lightning bolt, Wilkett said.

“Whatever it is, it will have an attachment to their boyfriend, trafficker, pimp,” he said.

Law enforcement agencies also have discovered “an absolute increase” in reports of familial sex trafficking — such as a grandmother pimping out a granddaughter, or an uncle pimping out a niece, he said.

The best way communities can combat illegal trafficking is to target buyers more robustly, Wilkett said.

Harsher penalties would decrease demand, thus reducing the incentive for traffickers to recruit victims, Wilkett said.

For instance, increasing the penalty from a misdemeanor to a felony for a first-time sex solicitation violation would help deter the crime, he said.

“They buyer needs to understand, ‘You are equally culpable,’” Wilkett said.

Published December 15, 2021

Online shopping is convenient, but can attract hackers

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The Pasco Sheriff’s Office (PSO) wants to help citizens prevent identity theft, and not just during the holiday season.

Online shopping offers convenience, but it can be an invitation to hackers when transactions are conducted.

Once a hacker collects your data, it can be sold or used to make unauthorized purchases.

To safely make purchases online be sure to shop on private networks, check to see if the website is secure, and utilize credit card safety features such as online statements, spending alerts and new account notices.

The PSO offers these five tips to help you protect yourself from identity theft:

  • Read your credit card and bank statements carefully and often.
  • Know your payment due dates. If a bill doesn’t show up when you expect it to, look into it.
  • Read the statements from your health insurance plan. Make sure claims match the care you received.
  • File a police report if you feel you have been a victim of identity theft.
  • Create an Identity Theft Report and get a personal recovery plan at IdentityTheft.gov.

Published December 01, 2021

Pasco County increases maximum towing charges

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The Pasco County Commission has increased the maximum charges that towing companies can impose for tows, storage of vehicles and certain services, any time a wrecker is called to a site.

Pasco County Attorney Jeffrey Steinsnyder told commissioners that the proposed increase came after Commissioner Christina Fitzpatrick informed the board on June 8 that the fees had not been revised in some time. She also relayed the request for an increase from the two operators on the Pasco Sheriff’s Office and Florida Highway Patrol rotation.

At the same meeting, Chief Assistant County Attorney David Goldstein said if the county was going to raise the Class A fees, the staff also should review the Class B and Class C fees, to be sure there’s not a disparity in the different levels of charges.

The new charges are consistent, to a large extent, to what Hillsborough County is charging, Steinsnyder said.

“We did bump the base rate for Class A Wreckers to $150, which is what the wrecker operator had requested, based on some information that Hillsborough County is currently reviewing,” the county attorney said.

The resolution sets the maximum rates which may be charged “on the towing of vehicles from or immobilization of vehicles on private property, removal and storage of wrecked or disabled vehicles from an accident scene or for the removal and storage of vehicles, in the event the owner or operator is incapacitated, unavailable, leaves the procurement of wrecker service to the law enforcement officer at the scene, or otherwise does not consent to the removal of the vehicle.”

Besides setting the maximum rate for Class A, Class B and Class C wrecker services, the resolution also addresses the maximum mileage rate, the hourly rate for waiting or working time on a site and maximum administrative fees.

Class A Wreckers are used to remove and/or store cars and light-duty trucks and vehicles weighing 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight or less. The maximum towing charge is $150 and $5 per mile.

Class B Wreckers are used to remove and/or store medium duty trucks and vehicles weighing  between 10,001 pounds and 16,000 pounds. The maximum charge is $170 and $5 per mile.

Class C Wreckers are used to remove and/or store vehicles weighing over 16,000 pounds gross vehicle weight. The maximum charge is $350 and $5 per mile.

Persons providing towing services on a rotation basis for third parties (such as law enforcement agencies) may be required by that third party to charge less than the rates on this schedule, or may be prohibited from charging for some of the types of services outlined by this schedule, the resolution notes.

It also says the rate schedule is not intended to serve as a minimum rate guarantee. Additionally, it spells out that the maximum base rates for Class A, B, and C wrecker services shall be adjusted up or down each year that the Consumer Price Index rises or falls.

The county administrator or designee shall publish a new fee schedule on Oct. 1 of each year.

Published August 18, 2021

City manager recaps possible 911 dispatch merger

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During a recent breakfast meeting with the East Pasco Networking Group, Zephyrhills City Manager Billy Poe briefed those gathered on the city’s current consideration of combining its  911 police communications system with the Pasco County Department of Emergency Services in New Port Richey.

The looming decision “has nothing to do with finances,” Poe said.

Instead, he said, it is “all about officer safety, citizen safety.”

The City of Zephyrhills is in talks to combine its 911 police communications system with Pasco County operations. (File)

The move would essentially create a centrally located communications center for all emergency personnel and shared CAD/RMS (computer-aided dispatch systems and records management systems), to eliminate 911 calls being answered by dispatches from the Zephyrhills Police Department (ZPD) and Pasco Sheriff’s Office — and the need to transfer wireless callers between agencies.

A full dispatch consolidation model would mirror what’s now in place at the Dade City Police Department, which joined Pasco’s 911 system in 2015.

Under this setup, the county handles all 911 calls, prioritizing calls by importance and dispatching the closest city or county units accordingly, on the same radio frequency. At the same time, Dade City police employees answer all non-emergency calls.

Poe was city manager of Dade City when the systems were combined.

He underscored the benefits of the shift. It has improved communication channels between agencies and has provided access to important records to individuals or suspects crossing jurisdictional boundaries between the city and the county.

For instance, it allows the agencies to have background on someone’s previous encounters with law enforcement entities, such as knowing if there’s a documented history of fighting or resisting arrest with personnel from the Zephyrhills and Dade City police departments, or the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office.

It also has proven to be beneficial in terms of law enforcement response, he said.

He cited an incident involving the report of a gun at a Dade City area McDonald’s. Seven nearby  sheriff’s deputies and four on-duty Dade City police officers responded immediately to the scene without incident.

“I like to think it works well,” Poe surmised, regarding the merged communications system.

Meanwhile, the city manager dispelled any conjecture that a 911 system consolidation is a means to eventually disband Zephyrhills Police into sheriff’s office operations, similar to the merger that happened with the city’s fire department.

“There’s zero percent chance that the police department will merge with Pasco County,” said Poe.

The city manager said he has a great relationship with the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, but noted they cannot offer the same level of service to residents of Zephyrhills as the local police department provides.

That’s because of the number and types of calls that the Sheriff’s Office must respond to, Poe explained.

“Consolidated dispatch, has nothing to do with the rest of the department. We are not looking to get rid of our police department. That is not the case at all. It is solely communications, and it is all about officer safety and citizen safety,” Poe said.

The Zephyrhills City Council, however, voted last September to consolidate its local fire department into Pasco County Fire Rescue — whereby the county assumed control of two stations on Sixth Avenue and Dean Dairy Road.

“That was not a fun thing to go through,” Poe said.

“I know council didn’t like it,” Poe said, referring to the decision to end the city’s independent fire department that had served the city for more than 100 years.

However, Poe said, in contracting out fire service responsibilities to Pasco County, both area stations now have an ambulance and increased staffing.

Response times were another consideration.

“It just made sense to have one responding agency, because they space it out, they know what they’re doing, they space them so they have minimal response times for each station, and so to be able to add two stations to the mix was huge for Pasco County…and I think the residents won,” Poe said.

The two former fire stations have been renamed, but the fire trucks retain some local flavor, with signage that indicates they are serving the City of Zephyrhills.

Poe said there also are plans to add another Pasco County Fire Rescue Station in Zephyrhills within the next few years, at the corner of Chancey Road and Yonkers Boulevard. When that comes online, Pasco County Fire Rescue Station 18 in Crystal Springs will be abandoned, he said.

That’s important because the city has never had three fire stations in the area, Poe said.

Published April 07, 2021

Afternoon picnic kicks off Spring Break

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The Pasco Sheriff’s Office PSO4KIDS kicked off Spring Break with an afternoon picnic that included a cookout, games, prizes, a train ride, bounce house, and K9s, at Elsie Logan Memorial Park in Spring Hill. Local kids and community members got to hang out with sheriff’s office staff, check out patrol vehicles, meet the Mounted Posse, get a bite to eat, see a flyover from the Aviation Unit, and take part in a game of kickball.

Pasco Sheriff Officer Friendly Cpl. Jaime Garcia plays football with a young member of the Spring Hill community. (Courtesy of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office)

 

Cpl. Arthur Madden covers a base during a kickball game at the PSO4KIDS picnic.

Crowd gets to see ‘Elvis,’ a ‘teen angel’ and classic cars

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Spectators at the “Grease is the Word” event at Land O’ Lakes Heritage Park had a chance to listen to an Elvis impersonator, check out a musical rivalry between Pasco Fire Rescue and the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, and to take a look at some classic cars. There were also games and other attractions at the event on March 13.

Billy ‘Elvis’ Lindsey ends his set draped in an American flag. ‘If you see any other Elvis impersonator do this, he got it from me,’ Lindsey said. (Fred Bellet)
This 1965 Buick Skylark, owned by David and Maria Aponte, of Wesley Chapel, was one of the standout vehicles on display.
Twelve-year-old Payton Garver gingerly places a Jenga block on top after taking it from the bottom of the tower that she and her mom, Marie Garver, were building in front of the Life Church tent.
Pasco firefighter Logan Mielke appeared as a teen angel, during the sing-along competition between Pasco Fire Rescue and the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office. Mielke was assisted by the Bobbie Sox Dancers, and the songs were sung karaoke-style.
Donna and Don White of Land O’ Lakes are accompanied by the musically inclined Moxie, left, and Mia — two Pembroke Welsch Corgis, at ‘Grease is the Word.’
The “Grease is The Word” performances put a smile on Dottie Morgan’s face as the Tampa woman watches Billy “Elvis” Lindsey on the Heritage Park stage.
Classic car judge Dallas Stevens, of the Land O’ Lakes, peers into a car dubbed ‘Pink Panther’ during a car contest at the ‘Grease is the Word’ event, at Land O’ Lakes Heritage Park. Howie and Barbara Mendick, of Lutz, own the 1950 Mercury.

 

This K9 is trained to help rescue people from disasters

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The Pasco Sheriff’s Office has added another police dog to its ever-growing K9 Unit — and this one brings a unique set of skills to the job.

K9 Maddie — a two-year-old black Labrador Retriever — is the agency’s first-ever “live-find” K9. That means the dog has been specially trained to find people missing in a natural or other disasters, such as a building collapse or the aftermath of a hurricane.

K9 Maddie, a 2-year-old black Labrador Retriever, is the Pasco Sheriff’s Office’s first ‘live-find’ K9, meaning it’s specially trained to find people that are missing in natural or other disasters, such as a building collapse or the aftermath of a hurricane. The law enforcement agency now has 31 K9 units. (Courtesy of Pasco Sheriff’s Office)

So-called live-find K9s like Maddie must be confident working at a distance from their handlers and sure-footed, with a keen sense of smell, sheriff’s office officials say.

Maddie came to the sheriff’s office last May from Maine-based Maranatha Farm Kennels, and began three months of training to pass state certification for search and rescue efforts.

Her handler, Deputy Robert Lewis, also has received intense training in rescue operations to best assist the canine when deployed, acquiring fire rescue certifications in ropes, rescue, trench and confined spaces operations.

Together, they have continued training almost daily on two of the agency’s FEMA-certified “rubble pile” training facilities, which simulate a variety of scenarios, such as a parking garage or house collapse.

Once the duo secures federal certification, the unit will be able to deploy to disasters outside of Florida, if necessary.

Lewis, a sheriff’s office employee since 2015, has previous experience as a field training officer.

When asked by agency leadership about partnering with a live-find K9, he jumped at the opportunity.

“It was very interesting to me,” Lewis said in a video media presentation produced by the sheriff’s office. “It’s a completely different task that no one’s done for the agency yet. Also, the fact that more than likely you’ll get to travel to respond to natural disasters, whether it be a hurricane somewhere else, or out of state.”

Lewis also noted: “I always wanted to be a K9 (deputy). I grew up around a lot of dogs for pet purposes and also hunting purposes.”

Ed and Angie Moore contributed funds for the Pasco Sheriff’s Office to acquire its first ‘live-find’ K9. The Moore family made the donation to honor their daughter, Madison, who suddenly passed away in 2017 at the age of 17 from a blood clot. Madison is remembered as an animal lover, who had aspirations of working in forensics. From left: Cpl. Jimmy Hall, Ed Moore, Angie Moore, Deputy Robert Lewis and Forensics Supervisor Sue Miller.

The advanced canine is named in honor of Madison “Maddie” Moore, a River Ridge High School student who passed away unexpectedly in 2017 at the age of 17, before her graduation. She died after a blood clot in her brain caused a massive stroke.

Her parents, Ed and Angie Moore, donated funds to the sheriff’s office to make the K9 purchase.

Inspired by television shows like Criminal Minds and CSI: Miami, Madison dreamed that she would earn a degree in forensics and become a crime scene investigator.

She showed miniature horses, competitively, and was known for her love of animals.

“Madison was a very outgoing kid,” Madison’s father said in the video. “We feel very fortunate…we were able to continue her legacy and put forth something that she was looking forward to in her life.

“It means a lot to us. It means even more that the dog was named after her and it will continue to carry her legacy.”

Including K9 Maddie, the sheriff’s office now has 31 K9s, which are funded through community donations and contributions.

In addition to live-find capabilities, the sheriff’s office operates K9s certified in narcotics detection, explosives detection, tracking, patrol work, human remains detection and animal assisted therapy. The agency also has K9s assigned to its highway interdiction and SWAT teams.

Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco underscored the importance of the agency’s K9 Units, during the video series.

“It’s about saving people, protecting our citizens,” the sheriff said. “When somebody’s in need, a child goes missing, a person with Alzheimer’s is lost, we can go out there and search for them. You know, if we have to hunt down a bad person, we find that bad person, but at the same time…the vast majority of our calls for service is to find people, to save people, and that’s what our K9s are out there doing.”

On K9 Maddie joining the force, Nocco said: “We’re blessed to have K9 Maddie now. I’m happy to see who she’s going to find in the future.”

Published March 10, 2021

Drug overdoses increasing in Pasco County

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During the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, there’s another alarming issue surging in Pasco County  — rising fatal and non-fatal drug overdoses.

The Pasco Sheriff’s Office has reported 1,491 overdoses (and 268 deaths) from January 2020 to December 2020 — representing a 71% increase from 2019.

This includes a single-month high of 168 overdoses (39 fatal) in May, agency data shows.

Most recently, the month of December proved one of the most troublesome months in the past year — with 135 reported overdoses and two deaths. The trend continued in 2021, as the first weekend in January recorded 19 overdoses, with three deaths, according to the sheriff’s office.

Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco

Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco says the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the county’s substance abuse and mental health problems because more people are dealing with job and financial losses, loneliness, homelessness and other personal struggles.

“We’re definitely seeing an extremely high spike since COVID hit with mental health and substance abuse, and especially the overdoses. There is an absolute correlation there,” Nocco recently told The Laker/Lutz News.

Overdose survivors have told deputies that “they feel like they’ve lost human connection with people,” Nocco said.

Instead of finding solace in faith, Nocco thinks many turn to substance abuse, and that, he said, is creating major issues.

During the midst of a pandemic, there are mental health issues occurring that won’t be healed with a vaccination, he said.

“People right now, they’re constantly on edge,” Nocco said.

These overdoses, Nocco said, are mostly related to heroin and other drugs laced with fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid analgesic similar to morphine but believed to be 50 times to 100 times more potent.

Said Nocco: “Heroin and fentanyl are the main two killers. When you’re seeing overdoses, it’s fentanyl. It’s sad. When you have an overdose and people pass away, it’s probably more likely than not that it’s fentanyl.”

Nocco noted the agency has even witnessed instances of carfentanil — an analogue 100 times stronger than fentanyl and most commonly used as an elephant tranquilizer.

Aside from its users, fentanyl and carfentanil offshoots pose a threat to the public and to first responders, as they can be absorbed through the skin or through accidental inhalation of airborne powder.

These substances are coming in from overseas, with stronger and stronger variations being discovered on the streets, Nocco said, adding, “It’s a very dangerous situation we’re dealing with.”

The overdoses predominantly are occurring in the western part of Pasco County, along the U.S. 19 corridor, Nocco said, but there are also pockets of activity in Land O’ Lakes, Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills.

A nationwide problem
Rising drug overdoses are trending across the nation.

Over 81,000 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States in the 12 months ending in May 2020. That’s the highest number of overdose deaths ever recorded in a 12-month period, according to recent provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

While overdose deaths already were on the rise in the months preceding the COVID-19 pandemic, the latest numbers suggest an acceleration of overdose deaths during the pandemic, the CDC reports.

This graphic shows fatal and non-fatal overdoses in Pasco County for each month in 2020. Absent is the month of December, which yielded 135 overdoses and two deaths. (Courtesy of Pasco Sheriff’s Office)

“The disruption to daily life due to the COVID-19 pandemic has hit those with substance use disorder hard,” CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield said, in a December news release. “As we continue the fight to end this pandemic, it’s important to not lose sight of different groups being affected in other ways. We need to take care of people suffering from unintended consequences.”

According to the CDC, synthetic opioids (primarily illicitly manufactured fentanyl) appear to be the primary driver of the increases in overdose deaths, increasing 38.4% from the 12-month period leading up to June 2019 compared with the 12-month period leading up to May 2020. During this time period:

  • 37 of the 38 U.S. jurisdictions with available synthetic opioid data reported increases in synthetic opioid-involved overdose deaths
  • 18 of these jurisdictions reported increases greater than 50%
  • 10 western states reported over a 98% increase in synthetic opioid-involved deaths

More troubling trends
While overdose figures were substantially higher in 2020 compared to 2019 and some previous years in Pasco, the sheriff’s office’s intelligence-led policing unit likewise found a steady increase each year since 2017, which, of course, predates the pandemic.

This may result from lasting effects of Florida’s opioid prescription pill epidemic, Nocco said, with many users who initially got hooked on prescription pills turning to heroin, meth and other substances to get their fix.

“We’re still dealing with it. It’s not over,” the sheriff said of the statewide pill crisis. “You’re looking at individuals that would’ve never used hard drugs such as meth or heroin, but because they were prescribed Roxys (Roxicodone), Oxys (Oxycodone), Xanax for minor things like a minor surgery, a tooth issue, something like that, they then became addicts, and so those people with those addictions, they’re still suffering right now.”

Seeking solutions
To tackle these various substance abuse and related mental health issues, the local law enforcement agency is continuing to leverage its community-based health partners such as BayCare, Chrysallis Health and Pasco County Alliance for Substance Abuse and Prevention, and others.

The sheriff’s office has a rolodex of health care agencies that can provide help with a range of issues, including mental health, substance abuse, homelessness, youth and family services, autism, suicide, and veterans and post-traumatic stress. More details on resources can be found on PascoSheriff.com/MENTALHEALTH.html.

“We want to get to people before they get to that crisis stage,” Nocco said, adding, “and if people are starting to feel depressed, if they’re starting to feel issues and concerns, please reach out to those resources immediately.

“If those health care issues are dealt with very early on, they don’t turn into criminal justice issues,” he said.

The CDC also has made recommendations that can help curb drug overdose epidemic in local communities:

  • Expand distribution and use of naloxone and overdose prevention education
  • Increase awareness about and access to and availability of treatment for substance use disorders
  • Intervene early with individuals at highest risk for overdose
  • Improve detection of overdose outbreaks to facilitate more effective response

On a related note, the sheriff’s office is working to make positive lasting impressions on the younger people, to help get a grip of at-risk mental health and substance use issues.

The agency has partnered with the Pasco County Council Parent Teacher Association (PTA) on a mental health initiative titled, “You Matter,” which mainly focuses on suicide prevention among juveniles. Part of the effort involves distributing magnets with upbeat reminders that can be attached to cellphones and wallets, and other places.

The sheriff said his agency is trying to get this message out to teenagers and young adults: “You matter in life.”

The fact is that many of these kids are isolated, Nocco said.

“They’re on their phones and they don’t feel like they’re engaged with what’s going on.
“I understand a lot of people go on social media and walk away depressed thinking about what they read or if somebody put a negative comment on there,” he said.

He wants to spread the word, to help people realize their value.

“It doesn’t matter what somebody wrote about you, you matter to somebody else, and your life is important.

“We don’t want to see people harm themselves or get an addiction over a comment made on social media by somebody who could live a couple of thousand miles away,” Nocco said.

Published February 03, 2021