It’s that time of year when state government offices decide out how much money they’ll request from the Legislature. Last week Leon County’s legislative delegation heard from Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell and Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil about local crime-fighting needs.
McNeil said he’s requesting $605,000 to better secure the I-10 corridor…because drugs and sex trafficking, in particular, are coming into Florida that way.
“Most of those South Georgia communities – I met with just about every sheriff on our border," he said. "They have an average of about 5 deputies that try to protect the Georgia border – which means they’re just pouring into Florida and into the Tallahassee-Leon and our Big Bend area. And we need that assistance to start to get some more traction.”
McNeil is also requesting $350,000 to fight fentanyl and $205,000 to help expand crime-fighting capacity beyond Leon County.
He also said that due to the high stress of the jobs of law enforcement officers, another $150,000 is needed to help officers with their mental health.
“When you think about the fact that our law enforcement partners all across our community are engaged in high-intensity drug encounters," said McNeil, "you may have seen just this past week where one of Tallahassee police officers was shot while trying to engage persons in our community.”
