FROM THE DESK OF STATE ATTORNEY BILL GLADSON
Recently, an Orlando media outlet reported that the Ninth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s non-arrest policy was influenced by the policy in the Fifth Judicial Circuit. To infer that their policy is comparable to mine is misleading. The policy utilized by our office was implemented during the height of Covid, following nearly a year of court closures. While there are some similarities between the two, this is an obvious and deliberate attempt by the State Attorney to provide cover after failing to collaborate with the law enforcement agencies in her circuit to arrive at a workable solution.
Every day, I am grateful for the close working relationships we have with the municipal agencies and sheriff’s offices throughout our circuit. We work closely with our law enforcement agencies, not against them. Our non-arrest policy is significantly more expansive than in the Ninth Judicial Circuit. This is particularly true when it comes to gun and violent crimes. More important than the scope of the policies, is the unreported fact that our policy specifically provides that if a law enforcement officer has any non-arrest case that they would like reviewed by our office, they are encouraged to contact our office. We do not turn down requests by law enforcement to review cases.
We also have on call prosecutors in all five of our counties, that are available to both citizens and law enforcement. These prosecutors are available to law enforcement 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This assures that we are available night or day to assist law enforcement with arrests, search warrants and many other types of legal matters. This is for all crimes, whether it be a second-degree misdemeanor or homicide…