Emery Gainey became the current sheriff of Alachua County after being appointed by Governor. Ron DeSantis in 2023. He is the only Republican in the race and will face the winner of the Democratic primary and NOP Pamela Marshall-Koons in the November election.
Questions and answers
Q: What is your approach to curbing gun violence in Alachua County? What have you accomplished so far in this area?
A: Combating gun violence is a multifaceted approach that includes prevention initiatives, restricting access to firearms, and enforcement. Our team members are active in several initiatives to address the widespread gun violence in our community.
We participate in the Gun Violence Prevention Initiative to help stakeholders in our community develop effective prevention strategies to reduce the increase in gun violence in Alachua County.
Our Crime Prevention and School Resource Deputies are continually working with our youth and their parents to educate them on legal alternatives to gun violence. We also make a concerted effort to encourage legal gun owners to take extra care to secure their firearms in a way that makes them difficult to steal and to use locking mechanisms that make the guns inaccessible for use.
In February of this year, we established a joint task force of federal, state, and local law enforcement officials to investigate and apprehend those who commit crimes involving weapons. This initiative has been very successful in identifying over 100 perpetrators, resulting in 68 cases and 64 arrests; 22 of these were charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Since March 2024, seven individuals have been sentenced to the Florida Department of Corrections, resulting in a total of over 68 years in state prison. Thirty-three individuals are currently in the ACSO Jail awaiting trial; 15 are teenagers, 13 are between the ages of 20-24, and 5 are 25-31. The work of the task force is ongoing.
Q: How do you deal with problems in the prison? Are there plans to build a new prison as the population grows? What is your approach to solving the staffing problems in the prison?
A: The ACSO Jail staff has done an excellent job of managing the inmate population under their care, custody and control. The majority of dedicated employees continue to give up days off and work long hours to perform the mandatory functions required by the Florida Model Jail Standards and ACSO policies and procedures.
The most serious current problem in the jail is the staffing shortage. When the Department of the Jail (DOJ) took office in October 2023, it was short 119 positions. In the last 10 months, we have hired over 100 employees at the DOJ, but through normal attrition (retirements, layoffs, relocations), etc., we have a net gain of 35 positions.
To address this issue, we created a full-time recruiting team, overhauled our hiring processes, implemented an updated online application system, and made other changes to more efficiently process applicants for positions across the agency.
Portions of our jail are in serious disrepair due to aging; therefore, it is incumbent upon our county commissioners to begin planning for a new facility now, as such a large-scale project will likely take 10 years to complete. My staff and I are in ongoing discussions with our commission and staff about this. In the meantime, it is critical that the county commission and staff continue to address maintenance issues that arise in the jail on a routine basis to ensure that both inmates and staff have a safe environment in which to work or be housed.
Q: What is your plan to address homelessness in the area? What do you think the role of the sheriff’s office should be when it comes to homelessness?
A: We have been involved in several important discussions with city and county staff regarding homelessness and have committed to assisting in our somewhat limited role in this area. Staff certainly recognizes the challenges that many of our citizens face and our representatives encounter many homeless citizens on an almost daily basis.
I am committed to working with the county as they seek alternative housing through the purchase of properties to address homelessness. Our deputies are committed to keeping every citizen as safe as possible, including those with housing issues to keep our community members safe.
We continue to work with our private community partners who provide a variety of assistance to the homeless.
Q: What do you wish you had done differently in your first year as sheriff of Alachua County?
A: I am extremely proud of the work that the dedicated men and women of the Sheriff’s Office have accomplished since my return to the agency. This is especially true since the agency was short 248 positions when I took office. However, the personal dedication to serving the Alachua County community has been fully demonstrated by those who remain with the agency and those we have hired.
Recruiting and re-staffing the agency remains a top priority, along with providing professional law enforcement services to the community. Once we have reduced the number of vacancies to a manageable level, we will re-evaluate our overall plans to best meet the needs of the community.
My staff and I have rebuilt our relationships with our local, state, and federal agencies, many of our nongovernmental community partners, and the surrounding county sheriff’s offices, all of whom are critical in the planning and delivery of essential services to this community.
That is why I am convinced that we have set the right priorities over the past 10 months.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: A Q&A with Alachua County Sheriff Emery Gainey
