At his ninth annual Addressing Crime Together presentation last week, Sheriff Rick Staly said crime in Flagler County has fallen 54 percent since 2017, with fraud, scams, domestic violence and traffic issues–despite 6,800 tickets issued–topping the list of concerns.
The sheriff said he will be asking for 13 new deputies in the coming budget season, nine from Palm Coast and four from the county. Each deputy adds about $150,000 to the respective budget, so Palm Coast’s additional cost will be close to $1.4 million.
The sheriff only lightly alluded to one of the agency’s most successful achievements since 2013–an unbroken record of not a single law-enforcement-involved fatality. “I want a culture that is appropriate for this community,” he said. “And one of the things that I tell my prospective deputies is that even though you have the legal right to use deadly force, it doesn’t mean that’s the right decision.”
“I sum it up this way: we police with the community. We don’t police the community,” Staly said. “So just by changing two words, is a completely different style of policing.”
Matters of particular public interest included the helicopter the agency just acquired, the use of drones as first responders, and the use of the deputies and the county jail to assist the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sweeps of alleged undocumented migrants.
The sheriff spoke in more detail than he has until now about the Bell 505 helicopter he acquired from Dan Newlin, the personal injury attorney and a staunch supporter of the sheriff. The helicopter is at an airport in Lakeland. It won’t be flying in the county until July. The Sheriff’s Office paid $700,000, of which $125,000 was from the asset forfeiture fund (confiscated money from drug dealers). Since the helicopter has a value of $1.42 million, Newlin donated the balance. The 2018 helicopter has 525 flight hours on it. Newlin “wasn’t using it anymore,” Staly said.
The sheriff did not discuss the specific operational costs of the helicopter, but said: “The two pilots and the two tactical flight officers were already in the budget, like they have been for the last two years. I just didn’t fill them because I was hoping to have this thing done like a couple years ago through the full donation. But it just took longer than I thought. And so no additional cost for funding it or operating it, because I already had it in the budget and there’s no payment to it because we paid cash for the helicopters.”
Staly said the agency uses drones, but there are times when a helicopter is necessary, especially when FireFlight, the county’s emergency helicopter, goes off duty from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., or when it is without its infrared and spotlight systems for night viewing. “We’re going to try to not overlap FireFlight hours so that we are available when FireFlight is not,” Staly said, “but that will frankly depend on if they are keeping the law enforcement gear on it, because if they’re not, then that doesn’t make sense.”
Shannon Martin, who used to be part of the sheriff’s public information office, asked him if he would have ride-alongs for the public on the new helicopter. “No, we’re not doing those. Sorry,” he told her. “I know you’re in the public information office for the city of Palm Coast. If you get a hurricane and you need to see it, to know the damage, then we’ll consider that. But it has to be really official business.”
The agency has five drones. It will be using them as first responders. They are being positioned in specific areas of Palm Coast and the county (in a partnership with Palm Coast government). “From our Real Time Crime Center that is here in this building up on the second floor,” Staly said, “our analysts will actually be able to launch one of these drones and fly it to where the call is remotely.” One such recent deployment had the drone at the scene, beaming back images before deputies got there.
The county jail is averaging 200 inmates a night, with a high of 330. The sheriff did not include the number of those jailed as part of the ICE sweeps, though by mid-March, FlaglerLive found, upwards of 205 individuals had been detained for ICE at the jail.
The sheriff did not address the arrangement with ICE until a question from the audience at the end of the presentation, when he described the mechanics of the federal law allowing for–and the state law requiring–local police agencies to collaborate with ICE. The system deputizes local law enforcement to have the authority of ICE agents in some regards. It does so at the local law enforcement agency’s expenses and liabilities. Staly said the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office has “a number of deputies” with that authority.
“So in effect, they’re a federal agent when an ICE detainer comes in, because you have to be a federal agent to serve an ICE detainer,” the sheriff said. “They’ve had to go through the training, get the credentials from ICE. They don’t get paid by ICE. They get paid by us. But that allows us to serve the detainer. Then ICE has 48 hours to come get them. If they don’t come in 48 hours and we don’t have local charges, by law, I have to release them. We have not had to do that.”
He said the agency will not be “like other cities across the country that forbid their law enforcement to work with a federal partner. I’m not going to do that.” By state law, no Florida law enforcement agency is allowed to decline participation. All county-level agencies are part of the system,, as are the National Guard, the Florida Highway Patrol and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Staly noted: “I do have another agreement with the federal government, but under federal law, I’m not allowed to talk about it.” (See the sheriff’s 2019 agreement with ICE here, and the 2025 agreement here.)
The sheriff discussed the half dozen education and rehabilitation programs that have won the jail accreditation and awards, including partnerships with Flagler Technical College, inmate work crews, parenting programs and the celebrated Successful Mental Health and Addiction Recovery Treatment program known as Smart that local judges rely on and applaud. “Since the program’s inception in May 2022, 203 inmates have graduated from SMART and have returned to the community,” the sheriff’s presentation noted. “109 of them – or 54% – have stayed on the path to successful recovery.” (Relapsing is an almost inevitable part of recovery.)
“I’m a law and order sheriff,” Staly said. “If we can help somebody turn their life around to become a productive citizen, that’s my preference.”
The sheriff underscored the fast pace of growth in a county that was ranked the sixth fastest-growing in the state between 2020 and 2025, adding 25,000 residents in that span, and he projected that, according to the University of Florida, the county’s population will be 172,200 in 12 years. The latest projection by UF’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research BEBR, issued in February, puts the “medium” estimate of the county’s 2035 population at 172,000, the “low” estimate at 150,400, and the “high” estimate at 193,600. BEBR’s low to medium estimates have generally been its more accurate ones over the years.
Dennis C Rathsam says
Staly, must be sucking on the exhaust fumes from his classic police car! He needs 13 more bodies, but not at the tax payers expense! Sell that junkmoble, that frees up enough money for 1 new deputy! This sheriff pisses more money away on things that are not needed.
Using Common Sense says
Thank you, Sheriff Staly for keeping us safe and all you do for the community. As a “Law and Order” Sheriff, we expect that you will do everything within your power to protect the safety, health, and welfare of the local residents of Flagler County and Palm Coast. As a resident of the largest city in Flagler, I would like to respectfully request more of an active policing effort in Palm Coast. Many residents have expressed their concerns regarding unlawful modified mufflers that disturb the peace day and night, excessive speeding and unsafe lane changes without signaling, motorcycle drag racing on Palm Coast Parkway, unlicensed dirtbikes on city streets speeding and executing dangerous wheelies, increased instances of littering and graffiti throughout the city, and damage to roads, medians, and private properties from intentional burnouts and off-road activity. We also would respectfully ask you to take a look at your budget and consider belt tightening, like we all must do in our households to keep expenditures in line. Residents of Palm Coast pay the lion’s share of taxes, and we would like to see more Law-and-Order enforcement in our city with issuance of citations and more active policing in our city. Write a few more tickets, increase active patrols, and use the resources we pay for to increase public safety and quality of life for local citizens. The message will get out that Palm Coast is NOT a raceway, dumping ground, or free for all for unlawful shenanigans. Thank you to you and all our local sheriff deputies, we appreciate all that you do.
bill says
13 more deputies and we can’t get any deputies down on old Kings Road by Jehovah witnesses doing radar they sit in the open. What good does that do? They do 60 miles an hour down the frigging road he’s getting 13 more deputies. They’re a joke. You don’t need 13 more deputies this Sheriff wants to run a big big operation like he’s Miami Dade.
Shark says
They are too busy patrolling I95 !!!
Shark says
Not a law enforcement fatalaty since 2013 but several caused by his deputies due to negligence – Deputy Finn’s negligence led to a wrong way fatality – Deputy Crego’s negligence led to a fatal accident. Unfortunately they are still Deputies !!!!
CJ says
You should then take that up with Former Sheriff’s Fleming and Manfre. As both of those incidents you speak of happened under their watch.
JimboXYZ says
Even in crime reduction (and I challenge those statistics, growth & more people only increases crime & pollution), the costs of it all never pays for itself. Welcome to Alfinville, FL, USA.
JF says
Are you crazy? 13 new Deputies. Everywhere you go you see Deputies sitting on the side of the road bullshitting with each other. You sir, are one greedy SOB!
Joy Cook says
Absolutely not! this is the first time I’m saying No! We never have an accurate number of deputies on staff. The state is paying for the Ice deputies. He received a $775,000 check plus a $1.6 million check , that should’ve gone to taxpayers for reimbursement and we are not paying for the helicopter, that he quietly inquired using taxpayers dollars and a so-called donation with a private public partnership with Dan Newlin. He wants more money start showing where it’s going.? He is the only one that doesn’t have to show where his money is going? only a budget. No more of this constitutional sheriff BS . It is time for transparency and we need to know exactly how many deputies, he has not just an estimate because we don’t know how many salaries are actually being used for something else. There is also this rumors of a private security company, there are private public partnerships, that bring in income. And he says crime is down. There is absolutely no need for 13 more deputies, especially when he’s getting money for the ice deputies, use an our deputies as ice deputies , which means where is their salaries going, that is paid by the county ? He using an our jail to detain them, which is paid by the county and our tax dollars. And I’m sure our resources are being used.. if he could spare our detention deputies and other deputies to be used this ice then we don’t need the other 13 . Let the state find 13 deputies to replace the ones, that we are using for ice. Why should that come out of our pockets? . if anything he owes us money. stop with the pretty pictures and making everything look like it balances, every year cause it doesn’t! when there’s money left over this man tells everybody to spend , so the invoices get there by the end of the fiscal year , so any extra money from the previous budget , doesn’t go back to the county and back to the taxpayers, so their your increase Staly, whatever is left over. So sorry if you spent it, We are not paying for your helicopter.! there is no need for it regardless of what you keep brainwashing people with. We already have a medevac 24/7 helicopter. Can he lie anymore? He’s had a pilot on staff since last May walking around. He wasn’t a consultant, he had a uniform. Braggin on who he was . He’s such a liar. What part of he bought this helicopter with no one, knowing, withoutpermission from us or the county. He should pay for it out of his own pocket. The man has a net worth of over $8 million. Let him pay for it himself. He’ll be using it for his own personal use anyway, to go back-and-forth to Tallahassee. Since he’s the president of some board up there . Or to festivals to show it off I doubt it’ll ever be used for anything else. Maybe he’ll do it for a chase or two.. but no one has narcissism. He will be the only one using it . He wanted this toy for too long. It’s a big waste of money between, fuel the maintenance and the pilot that’s just gonna be sitting there 90% , of the time we have better use for money than that. Just the maintenance and the pilot alone could’ve paid for 13 deputies. Two more years people! Vote him out. We do not need a showman. Or a politician, We need a sheriff.
Using Common Sense says
Ah but we ARE paying for the helicopter maintenance! Over 100k a year, that is another reason he needed the Constitutional Sheriff title. Do we get a refund for the 911 dispatchers that were moved from sheriff budget? This move alone should result in a smaller budget ask. But not gonna expect that to ever happen. (Prove me wrong)
Gina says
Pennington handed him over tht 775,000 dollar check, she needs to go!
Endless dark money says
Rapeublicans are sick! No money for public education, hungry kids, and lack of jobs. But plenty for the police state. Never trust a rapeublican they starve kids to bomb kids literally!!!!
Funny as poverty increases so will crime so invest in people instead of prison camps…..
End GoP terror!
Deborah Coffey says
The Sheriff is out of control. Enough!
Inflated budget says
If the helicopter pilot &;staff have been in the budget for years where is the $ that wasn’t needed or spent ? Lord knows Slick Rick didn’t return it to the county funds
Why can’t the majority of the population (Palm Coast) get their own police force like Bunnell & Flagler. Let FCSO cover unincorporated county & just assist local forces as needed ?
Farmer says
13 more deputies and all the toys the sheriff could ever want. I am glad we are a safe community, but at what point are we hitting diminishing returns and that extra money would be more effective elsewhere?
bill says
Go do some research and find out what type of car Stanley has and I’ll show you the money he has he’s full of crap. You don’t need more deputies power-hungry power, hungry law-enforcement idiot I wouldn’t call deputy if my life depended upon it I’ll take care of myself very little respect for these guys here and personality wise. You’ll give them a sensitivity training and how to deal with people and talk to them mostly ones have a cocky attitude. They think their gods give to the rest of humanity.
Staly is a chump says
Staly, your Kool-Aid is poisonous. You are OUT OF YOUR MIND and not worth your name on any public building. Shame on you. I saw a post on PalmCoast.Gov with volunteers cleaning up trash. You are so proud of your Green Roof Inn, why do you not have your inmates bused out of the green roof, cleaning up trash, mowing grass and landscaping?! (any couunty or state jail system does this up north) You would rather them be running drug rings, doing whatever criminal BS with cell phones. Everywhere you look, behind car dealership on 100, the park by the firehouse on Belle Terre etc. there sit your police 3-5 at a time chatting it up. What are you doing to help the tax base instead of pulling for more more more? All the people and businesses you have in your pocket, you are already criminally minded – time to expose you for what you are, a greedy fraud.
Mark says
Palm Coast could have had it’s own Police Department long ago, now you have this mess.
TR says
…and then the people against Staly’s dept. would complain about the raise in taxes and whoever the PC sherriff is.
CJ says
The City wanted a part-time/day time traffic unit. Why, because that’s all the could have afford. Oh yeah, the Sheriff’s Office would have still been answering all the calls overnight.
And, now they definitely don’t have the money. Look at the City of Deltona, they pay $14,000,000 a year to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement services.
Trying to start a police department would definitely cripple the City financial and they’re having enough trouble with waste water treatment facilities.
Hmmm says
So a reduction in crime but he needs more 13 more deputies… maybe he should just staff patrol and not his detective divisions… if there is a reduction in crime one would surmise there is less crime to investigate….
TR says
But with the amount of new residence coming into the COUNTY there is a need for more deputies to keep the crime down.
Ed says
Get your officers rolling (instead of parked ) and cross trained so a traffic accident has to wait in excess of an hour for a officer to arrive at Cody’s Corner from Indian Trails or a officer going from Lake Diston to Wal Mart for an accident.
We once waited with a suicidal lady 90 minutes for an officer to arrive
I could be in Ga. In 90 minutes where did he come from ?
bill says
the sheriff is power hungry , we don’t need a chopper. we need more radar units, but that type of police work is beneath them. They want to play big shots and kick down doors. go work for a major big city like I did with 1500 police officers.
Sickofthisnonsense says
Oh screw this. Yeah, this town needs to spend more money to have more bored, coked out cops harassing people or wasting time in cul de sacs. I want to see an accounting of how many cops are employed, how much they are draining from the tax payers, and a valid assessment if they do any real good. Cops are generally cleanup and don’t really stop crime. I would bet you could cut the amount of cops in half and crime levels wouldn’t budge. If we put all that wasted money back into the community and make life better by doing things like lowering costs, crime might actually go down. Rick Staly is a thug that thinks he’s a tough guy. He’s got to go.
Sunny says
Slick Rick constantly asks for more & more with never having to show us a dime of where it all goes! That building was out of control along with toys & toy shed! People are scraping by while you blow through money like it grows on trees. ACCOUNTABILITY MUST BE DEMANDED EVERY DIME OF OUR MONEY!
Taxpayer says
Is this a joke? Sheriff Staly wants more officers and more money. Every time we turn around he is asking for more money.
Sorry I don’t agree with his request and I can see from reading other statements neither does anyone else.
What about a police department for the City of PC?
T says
I dont see cops anywhere really they need to just work and crime is down if you down report it and keep in quiet
Villein says
Nobody shows up to voice their concerns about the sheriffs budget when the county holds their budget hearings. Complain then.
Elections are held even years. Tell your candidates for county commission you want accountability in the sheriff’s budget.
There’s never an explanation for the need for increased spending or more deputies other than the circular logic of more deputies less crime. There’s such a thing as diminishing returns. I just assume when someone can’t explain that they’re lying and trying to take advantage of me. That’s how I feel about this scam.
Samuel L. Bronkowitz says
I’m willing to bet he could find those extra deputies he needs by digging around in some of those back roads off of seminole that they like to sleep at
Robjr says
More deputies.
I and my neighbors cannot get them to respond and stop the trucks, suvs etc from parking on our
street overnight.
bill says
i don’t understand why u need more deputies when you see more COP’s in this city than sheriff units. Check the building out on old kings road. look at all those units . lots of $$$ for maintenance. they do traffic for various events throughout the city. They patrol retail shopping centers for violations of handicap fire zones. They do all accidents with minor injuries so they take a big burden off of the regular deputies and he wants 13 more he doesn’t want their team or he’s probably looking for six or seven he’s shooting high so they knock him down to six or seven people feel good and he got what he wanted and maybe someone out there can explain to me why these guys don’t do auto fatalities , why do the SP’s have to do the investigations. Staly wants 5 or 6 more. not 13. its a big game i know i spent 27 years of my life in it