Week In Review
This week, I presented a Back the Blue Award to a DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office lieutenant for taking heroic, life-saving actions.
While commuting to work, Lieutenant Michael Bellflower spotted a livestock trailer with a driver in distress. Lt. Bellflower rushed through traffic, jumped…This week, I teamed up with renowned crime fighter and victims’ advocate John Walsh and the Florida Association of Crime Stoppers for a new statewide public-safety initiative. We are encouraging Floridians to be proactive in helping law enforcement solve crimes by reporting crime using **TIPS.…
This week, Floridians endured the wrath of Hurricane Idalia. The storm made landfall as a dangerous Category 3 hurricane Wednesday morning in the Big Bend region.
The wreckage left by Idalia is truly devastating, leaving many communities in ruins that will take months to recover fully. But…This week, I announced the presentation of a Back the Blue Award to De Luna Coffee International, a locally-owned coffee business in Pensacola for showing extraordinary support of law enforcement.
De Luna recently launched a new product and promised to donate some of the proceeds to the…This week, we issued a Consumer Alert warning Floridians who wish to give funds to those affected by the Maui wildfires of the potential for charity scams. The devastation caused by this disaster in Hawaii is heartbreaking—claiming more than 100 deaths and burning thousands of acres across the…
Our nation is in the midst of an opioid crisis, being exacerbated by illicit fentanyl, coming across the Southwest border in record amounts. This crisis is having a devastating impact on Florida families, claiming thousands of lives every year.
This week, I traveled to the western-most…Our nation is in the midst of an opioid crisis, being exacerbated by illicit fentanyl, coming across the Southwest border in record amounts. This crisis is having a devastating impact on Florida families, claiming thousands of lives every year.
This week, I traveled to the western-most…This week, we continued our Summer Scams Series: Tech Traps to help Floridians identify new ways scammers are using technology to target them.
Our latest installment warns about smart TV scams.
In this emerging scheme, scammers create phony pop-ups with phishing links, in an attempt…This week, I announced the creation of the Cyber Fraud Enforcement Unit to combat cybercrime in Florida. The unit includes criminal and civil attorneys within my office who work with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and other law enforcement agencies to help solve online criminal…
This week, I announced the launch of the Hallway Heroes initiative ahead of the upcoming academic school year.
As the mother of a school-aged child, summers seem to fly by and we’re already preparing for the Fall. Our school resource officers and deputies are a vital part of our schools…This week, my office and the Federal Trade Commission sent more than $540,000 to consumers who fell victim to an illegal robocall scheme, including nearly $50,000 going directly to Floridians.
This is the result of successful joint litigation by my office and the FTC against Life…This week, I visited the Margate Police Department in South Florida to present a Back the Blue Award to Detective Julio Fernandez for his dogged investigative work in solving multiple cold cases.
Det. Fernandez is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and has served in law enforcement for 22 years.…This week, I issued a Consumer Alert warning Floridians about a rising trend in jury duty scams.
In these scams, an imposter will call a target claiming that they missed jury duty and will be arrested if they do not pay a fine immediately.
Potential victims can be understandably…This week, I continued our Thin Line Tribute: Sunshine Salute Series in Pinellas County to show appreciation for law enforcement officers who moved to be Florida heroes.
Since last July, Florida’s law enforcement ranks grew by more than 2,000, with 595 being new out-of-state recruits.…This week, with Florida students now out of school, we launched Idle Time: A Summer Safety Series to help parents protect children from summer-related threats. If you're a parent like me, you're excited to have your children home for the summer, but worried about their safety during…
In recognition of the beginning of hurricane season, we released our 2023 Hurricane Preparedness Guide. The guide is filled with tips and information to help Floridians prepare for a storm strike—or any scams that could arise before, during or in the aftermath.
The release comes after a…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…