The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is looking to do its part to reduce the area's nearly 12 percent unemployment rate. ...more

October 23, 2009

Pasco County Sheriff Bob White announced Thursday that he will disband the agency's air unit - eliminating four helicopters and one airplane - to cut annual operational costs by $600,000, much of which will be reallocated to hire more patrol deputies. ...more

March 6, 2009

Pasco County Sheriff Bob White announced this morning he is disbanding the agency's air unit to cut annual operational costs by $600,000, much of which will be reallocated to put more patrol deputies on the streets. The department will return its four helicopters to the federal government surplus program that provided them and will advertise its airplane for sale on the Internet, he said. ...more

March 5, 2009

Pasco County Sheriff Bob White announced Wednesday that recent changes at the sheriff's office will mean 30 more deputies on the "front lines" in his fight against crime. ...more

February 5, 2009

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office is doing away with paid overtime and eliminating its fugitive unit as it tries to pare costs. The "zero overtime" policy affects all sheriff's office employees, not just deputies, and is expected to save $6 million. ...more

February 3, 2009

Former Zephyrhills Police Chief Russell Barnes, who resigned amid a payroll scandal in August, has applied for a job as a patrol deputy with the Pasco County Sheriff's Office. ...more

January 15, 2009

Former Zephyrhills Police Chief Russell Barnes, who resigned amid a payroll scandal in August, has applied for a job as a patrol deputy with the Pasco County Sheriff's Office. Barnes, 56, applied online for the job in December. "We don't comment on applicants," sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll said. Barnes did not return a message seeking comment. He resigned from the Zephyrhills force in August, about an hour before the city council was to decide whether to fire him. He was hired in November 2003. ...more

January 14, 2009

LARGO -- An unemployed man was arrested Monday evening on charges he raped a mentally challenged girl earlier in the day. Michael A. Diffenderfer, 55, was charged with one count of sexual battery. He was being held this morning at the Pinellas County Jail on $100,000 bail. ...more

December 30, 2008

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is making several changes in how it runs its jail system, including the creation of crisis intervention teams, additional training in handling inmate grievances and clarifying use of force procedures for detention and patrol deputies. ...more

November 18, 2008

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is making several changes in how it runs its jail system, including the creation of crisis intervention teams, additional training in handling inmate grievances and clarifying use of force procedures for detention and patrol deputies. ...more

November 17, 2008