Sheriff’s Office To Assume Animal Services Duties
By Wayne Ivey, Brevard County Sheriff // March 20, 2014
unanimously approved by county commission
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA — I am very happy to announce that on March 18, our Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved a proposal for the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office to assume all responsibilities of the Brevard County Animal Services Department.
The concept for this partnership was conceived in discussion between the County Manager’s Office and Sheriff’s Office Staff over the past several months.
During early discussions, it became apparent that if the Sheriff’s Office assumed enforcement programs for Animal Services, we could provide enhanced levels of investigative expertise, support, and resources to enhance the current program and capabilities.
After further discussion, the concept was revised to include Shelter Operations as well in an effort to maintain a unified and professional approach to countywide Animal Services.
In addition to the staff of Animal Services our agency will utilize volunteer and inmate labor to augment providing food, shelter, basic medical care and development resources to aid in adoption efforts.
Additionally, by facilitating public/private partnerships we will provide a more effective service to our citizens and our animals.
NEW PROGRAM GIVES HOPE TO LESS FORTUNATE PETS
I would like to commend Deputy County Manager Stockton Whitten, his Staff and the Board of County Commissioners for researching and facilitating such an important endeavor and supporting a new partnership that will bring stability and efficiency to a critical community function while giving hope to some of our less fortunate pets.
The New program will have two primary components, Shelter and Enforcement operations. The enforcement efforts are responsible for enforcing the County’s Animal Code, State Statute, rabies program, investigating cruelty complaints, dangerous dogs, animal impacts on public safety and animal welfare.
The shelter operations are open admission shelters responsible for the annual care of over 14,000 animals.
The shelters provide food, shelter, basic medical care, spay/neuter services, adoption, rescue and foster programs.
SHELTER BENEFITS FROM VOLUNTEERS
I would like to commend Deputy County Manager Stockton Whitten, his Staff and the Board of County Commissioners for researching and facilitating such an important endeavor and supporting a new partnership that will bring stability and efficiency to a critical community function while giving hope to some of our less fortunate pets. — Sheriff Wayne Ivey
By assuming these services, the Sheriff’s Office can better provide improved training, enhanced professionalism, streamlined communication and efficiency to include a more effective customer service program. Additionally, the BCSO will also provide increased investigative expertise, while improving the response to animal cruelty, dog fighting and animal neglect investigations.
The shelter operations will benefit from the use of Volunteer and Inmate Labor services for the cleaning and maintenance of shelters and grounds, which will serve to free up staff to focus on adoption and foster programs and efforts.
With this new program, the Sheriff’s Office will also be introducing a creative new concept that will combine efforts with our Agriculture & Marine Unit to investigate criminal animal abuse and neglect cases.
The investigators for this specialized unit would consist of Reserve Deputies, who volunteer their services to the agency and citizens. While the effective date is October 1, 2014, for the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office to assume all of the County’s Animal Services responsibilities the next several months will be used to finalize the details so we can ensure a seamless transition. Our overall goal is to dramatically improve animal service programs for Brevard County citizens and animals.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey has been a law enforcement officer for over three decades. Sheriff Ivey is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and has a Bachelor’s Degree from Daytona State College in Management and Supervision. Sheriff Ivey’s background in law enforcement is inclusive of Management, Criminal Investigations, Narcotics, Patrol Services, Public Integrity Investigations, and Corrections.
Prior to being elected in 2012, Sheriff Ivey served the citizens of the State of Florida as a Resident Agent in Charge for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. As a member of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Sheriff Ivey developed and created the country’s first ever statewide Task Force on Identity Theft. That same year the Task Force was named one of the top five most innovative programs in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and investigated approximately 44 million dollars in fraud cases. Additionally, as a member of FDLE, Sheriff Ivey created the Child Abduction Response Team (C.A.R.T) that re-defined the way Child Abduction cases are conducted throughout the country today. The program was later selected as the most innovative program in the country by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and is now used as a nationwide model in the response and investigation of child abductions.
Sheriff Ivey has testified before the United States Congress on law enforcement related matters and has extensive experience in the area of Public Integrity Investigations. Sheriff Ivey was honored as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Special Agent of the Year (1996) and was also recognized by the Commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for his Outstanding Contributions to Criminal Justice. In August of 2011 Sheriff Ivey was honored by the National Organization of Victims Advocacy for his work at the national level as an advocate of victim’s rights and protection.
Sheriff Ivey speaks regularly on topics such as Identity Theft, Crime in America, Human Trafficking, Domestic Violence, and Self Defense through Mental Preparedness. Sheriff Ivey firmly believes that Crime Prevention and Education are vital to reduce our crime rate and protect our community.
