Brevard Sheriff's "Felon Sweep" Nets 501 Arrests
BREVARD COUNTY, Floridda --The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, in partnership with The Florida Sheriffs Task Force,
recently launched an initiative to remove felons from Florida’s streets.
Operation “Felon
Sweep” focused on removing violent felons, felons with outstanding warrants, and sexual
offenders and predators from Brevard County communities.
Over a twenty-two day period between
September 28th and October 19th, deputies and agents of the Sheriff’s Office arrested 501
individuals on felony charges including the service of 275 felony warrants.
This agency-wide effort also included targeted enforcement initiatives by the Special Investigations
Unit, the GAMEOVER Task Force, and the Sexual Offender Registration and Tracking
(SORT) Unit.
During compliance checks of sexual offenders and predators, eleven suspects were arrested for alleged violations of their probation or for failing to comply with
the stipulations of their release.
“We were proud that Brevard County Law Enforcement could
play a role in this large scale operation. Arresting more than 500 people in Brevard
alone for felony crimes, many of which were dangerous and evading authorities, is a
successful operation by any measure,” said Sheriff Jack Parker.
The Florida Sheriffs initiated and coordinated this effort to make Florida’s streets a
safer place for its citizens. This operation combined efforts from 44 separate Sheriff’s
Offices throughout the State of Florida. The operation resulted in 11,875 felony arrests
and significant seizures including over 900 lbs. of marijuana, 30 lbs of cocaine, and over
6,000 prescription pills. Agencies across the state also seized over $410,000 in illegal
cash proceeds.
“Felonies are taken very seriously and we at the Florida Sheriffs Association are proud
to lead this initiative to get criminals off the streets,” said FSA President, Sheriff Susan
Benton. “The Florida Sheriffs Task Force will continue to work tirelessly to make Florida
one of the safest states in the country.”
The Florida Sheriffs Task Force pools resources from the 67 Sheriffs’ Offices to address
specific areas of concern. Past task forces have dealt with issues such as cyber sexual
predators, prescription drug abuse and “deadbeat dads.” The Florida Sheriffs Task Force
also is the point of contact for statewide initiatives, including helping to staff the State
Emergency Operations Center and coordinating Sheriffs' offices responding to storm-
ravaged communities during hurricanes and other catastrophic disasters.