Week In Review

This holiday weekend will mark the beginning of the 100 Deadliest Days—the time period between Memorial Day and Labor Day when accidents caused by teen drivers increase significantly.
With the academic year in Florida coming to an end, kids will have more free time on their hands—for teens…

This week, in recognition of National Police Week, we launched a new Thin Line Tribute series called Sunshine Salute. The series focuses on out-of-state law enforcement officers who moved here to be a Florida hero.
To launch this new series, I stopped by the St. Petersburg College…

This week, we recognized National Fentanyl Awareness Day by joining law enforcement leaders and other first responders in Clearwater to launch a new program to help fight the opioid crisis and save lives.
Our new initiative, Helping Heroes, will provide free naloxone to law enforcement,…

This week, I presented a Back the Blue Award to a brave Orlando firefighter who saved the life of a Seminole County Deputy. Orlando Fire Department Lieutenant Ben Wootson was off-duty and driving his son to soccer practice on a Saturday morning in March, when he saw that a Seminole County…

This week, we released Scams at a Glance: Sink or Swim to help Floridians avoid pool-contractor scams. With summer approaching, many Floridians may try to beat the heat with a new pool. However, inground pools are expensive home-improvement projects, and if a consumer is not careful, thousands…

This week, I helped launch the Florida Law Enforcement Virtual Job Fair with the Florida Sheriffs Association and Florida Police Chiefs Association. This nationwide recruitment event aimed to bring in officers from across the nation to serve in a state that backs the blue. Florida is the most…

This week, we concluded the final installment of our Tax-Season Scams Series, highlighting a drastic increase in reports to the Internal Revenue Service about suspicious activity—a 300% increase from 2021 to 2022. We created this series to help protect Florida taxpayers from this alarming…

This week, I traveled to Sarasota County to issue a public safety alert about a deadly animal tranquilizer known as xylazine that is killing Floridians. Sarasota is experiencing an increased number of deaths due to abuse of this drug, so I joined local and state law enforcement to issue a…

This week, I urged the Drug Enforcement Administration to follow Florida’s lead and place xylazine, also known as tranq, on the federal Schedule I list of banned substances. Xylazine, like fentanyl, is dangerous on its own. It can also be mixed with other drugs enhancing its lethality. In fact,…

This week, in recognition of Women’s History Month, I presented a Florida Cabinet resolution to the Florida Police Chiefs Association highlighting the record number of female police chiefs leading departments in our state. Florida now has a record 20 female chiefs—10 of whom are the first women…

This week, I issued a warning for spring breakers about the extremely dangerous threat of deadly synthetic opioids, like fentanyl, and other illicit substances. Fentanyl is being mixed with more common drugs and counterfeit pills. These deadly mixtures are often sold to unsuspecting users—often…

As National Consumer Protection Week comes to an end, I want to remind Floridians how important it is to watch out for new and emerging scams. My Consumer Protection Division works hard every day to protect Floridians and put an end to scams and deceptive business practices. Since 2019, we have…

This week, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister, the Drug Enforcement Administration and I announced the results of a three-month law enforcement operation to take down a violent gang trafficking massive amounts of deadly fentanyl in Florida. Operation Checkmate led to the arrest of 21…

This week, I announced a legislative push to permanently outlaw Frankenstein opioids in Florida. These highly lethal synthetic opioids are also known as nitazenes—some of which are many times more deadly than fentanyl. Last year, when we first heard about these deadly synthetic opioids, my…

This week, we recognized Valentine’s Day and issued an important Consumer Alert for those looking for love online. Romance scams cost Americans more than $1 billion last year and that number is expected to go even higher as more and more people use the internet to search for their perfect match…

This week, following the Chinese spy balloon saga, I cautioned Florida parents about another potential security risk—China-owned social media company TikTok. My office is actively investigating the popular social media app over its harmful effects on children, engagement techniques and data…

This week, at a ceremony in The Villages, we recognized five outstanding Seniors vs. Crime volunteers as Super Senior Sleuths, as well as the 2021-22 Senior Sleuth Advocate of the Year. Super Senior Sleuths are volunteers who go above and beyond in advocating and assisting older consumers in…

This week, I recognized National Data Privacy Week by issuing a Consumer Alert to help Floridians secure and protect personal information. According to reports, data breaches exposed approximately 22 billion records worldwide last year. We also know hackers and cybercriminals are always looking…

This week, I presented Back the Blue Awards to Florida Highway Patrol Troop A for their courageous efforts to rescue a victim from human trafficking. While responding to a highway pursuit, Troopers rescued a young girl being transported across the state by a dangerous criminal. The trafficker, a…

This week, I visited the Hillsborough County Clerk of Courts & Comptroller office to thank them for joining our fight to stop human trafficking. Six hundred and fifty employees in the clerk’s office recently received anti-human trafficking training—marking the highest number of trainees of…