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Indian River County Sheriff's Office- Major Crime Team Indian River County, Florida is located on the eastern seaboard of Florida and represents 543 square miles of total land mass. Since 1980, Indian River County has experienced tremendous growth in population. From a population of approximately 59,896 residents in 1980, Indian River County has more than doubled the total number of residents. According to the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce, the county's estimated population in 2014 was 144,955 residents. The Florida Research & Economic Database estimates that during the tourist season, the population increases to well over 190,000 citizens. In 2005, the Indian River County Sheriff's Office (IRCSO) developed the Selective Enforcement Team (S.E.T.), whose primary responsibility was to target specific crime disorders within the unincorporated areas of Indian River County. S.E.T. was comprised of two sworn law enforcement deputies and a sergeant. This team tracked and documented all gang activity; assisted the Criminal Investigations Section with homicides, robberies, and large drug organizations; and were assigned to specific investigations as the result of crime analysis. In 2009, IRCSO was forced to eliminate the entire S.E.T. component in response to the nationwide economic downturn and mandatory budget cuts imposed throughout the entire county. The team was reallocated to fill patrol positions to offset hiring freezes and ensure adequate law enforcement coverage was provided to the residents of Indian River County. On December 31, 2009, IRCSO had a workforce of 485 employees. On December 31, 2014, the agency employed 456 employees: 297 sworn and 159 civilian, resulting in a 6% decrease in personnel. Within the same timeframe, IRCSO experienced a significant increase in the total number of calls for service, including gun related crimes within the county, from 149,721 to 211,133. This represents a 29.09% increase. In 2014, the following crimes involving a firearm were committed in unincorporated Indian River County: 4 homicides - 200% increase from 2013; 19 armed robberies - 11% increase from 2013; 64 aggravated assaults. Additionally, between 2013 and 2014 UCR Part I offenses increased from 2,225 to 2,281 resulting in a 2.5 % index change. Additionally, 41 firearms were stolen representing a 58% increase. Currently, all major crimes that occur within the Sheriff's Office jurisdiction are investigated by the Criminal Investigations Section which consists of thirteen detectives that average approximately 8 felony cases per month. All misdemeanor cases are investigated by road patrol deputies that respond to the call for service. This application seeks to secure funding dedicated to the development of a Major Crime Team consisting of five community-policing deputies that support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques to proactively address the immediate threat of increasing gun violence, burglaries/thefts in which guns are stolen, and aggravated assaults involving firearms in Indian River County. 6b)Will the problem/focus area described above be addressed with an explicit place-based strategy(e.g. hot-spot policing)that targets specific addresses or locations with a disproportionate share of crime or disorder? } Yes No 6c)Which of the following activities will your agency and officers hired under this grant(or an equivalent number of redeployed veteran officers)engage in as it pertains to your identified crime hot spot?(please check all that apply): - Enhance enforcement efforts(sweeps or increased patrol) Targeted community alerts ' Prevention efforts directed at high-risk victims • Prevention efforts directed at high-risk offenders • On-going identification of crime concentrations by qualified analysts ▪ Formal evaluations of the effectiveness of interventions(e.g. using pre/post-test and/or comparison groups) None of the above 7)Which of the following information sources did you use to prioritize this problem/focus area as a problem/focus area to address through this grant program(please check all that apply): • Police department data(e.g. police reports,calls for service, crime data,citizen complaints) s Agency personnel(e.g. officer feedback,command staff priorities) Other local non law enforcement government agency data • Community based organizations(e.g.faith based, non-profits, social service providers) 86