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Volusia Sheriff's Office

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Volusia Sheriff's Office
Volusia Sheriff's Office badge
Volusia Sheriff's Office badge
Volusia Sheriff's Office logo
Volusia Sheriff's Office logo
AbbreviationVSO
MottoService–Honor–Integrity
Agency overview
Formed1855; 170 years ago (1855)
Employees860[1]
Annual budget$1,300,000,000 (2024)[2]
Jurisdictional structure
Location of Volusia County with Florida
Size1,432.44 square miles (3,710.0 km2)
Population553,543
Legal jurisdictionVolusia County, Florida
Governing bodyCounty commission
General nature
Operational structure
Headquarters123 W. Indiana Ave., DeLand, Florida, 32720
Agency executives
Parent agencyVolusia County Council
Facilities
District Offices5
JailsVolusia County Branch Jail
Website
Official website

The Volusia Sheriff's Office (VSO) or Volusia County Sheriff's Office (VCSO) is the primary law enforcement agency of unincorporated Volusia County, the cities of Deltona, DeBary, and Oak Hill, as well as the town of Pierson.[3] The VSO is headed by a sheriff, who serves a four-year term and is elected in a partisan election. The current sheriff is Michael J. Chitwood.[4]

Department Structure

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VSO helicopter

The Volusia Sheriff's Office is headed by a sheriff. Currently, the sheriff is Mike Chitwood who replaced former Sheriff Ben Johnson in 2017. Chitwood was previously Chief of Police of the Daytona Beach Police Department.[5] The VSO has an annual budget of $1.3 billion, as of 2024.[2]

Chief Deputy

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The rank of chief deputy is the second-highest rank in the Office, reporting directly to the Sheriff. Each chief deputy serves as a member of the senior command staff and assists the sheriff in managing civilian and commissioned personnel.[6]

District offices

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The Volusia Sheriff's Office has five district offices and two substations across Volusia County.[3]

Substations

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Rank structure

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Title Insignia
Sheriff
Chief Deputy
Commander
Colonel
Major
Captain
Lieutenant
Sergeant
Deputy First Class
Deputy

History

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VSO patrol vehicle, New Smyrna Beach, Florida, 2023

Five deputies have been killed in the line of duty, including Sheriff Jefferson Davis Kurtz.[7]

In 2017, the VSO began implementing reformist measures to reduce the size and scope of law enforcement in Volusia County. Classes on gender and racial bias in policing were implemented.[8][9]

In 2020, the VSO implemented crisis intervention training for new officers in Volusia County with the goal of decreasing use-of-force and eliminating the "warrior mentality" in police operations; influenced by the Scottish police reform group Police Executive Research Forum (PERF).[10][11][12] In the same period, the VSO equipped detectives and the SWAT team of Volusia County with body cameras and increased the use of SWAT.[13]

VSO deputies responding to Hurricane Milton, Samsula, FL

In 2024, Sheriff Chitwood received national attention for perp walking and posting mugshots of children who had been arrested.[14] His actions were characterized by Kelly McBride of the Poynter Institute as "vindictive" and a "publicity stunt harmful to children".[15][16][17]

List of sheriffs

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Full list of sheriffs of Volusia County:[18]

  • Elijah Watson (1855–1856)
  • Hezekiah E. Osteen (1856–1858)
  • Thomas J. Brooke (1858–1859)
  • A.J. Simmons (1859–1860)
  • James C. Marsh (1860–1862)
  • Cordin Barnes (1862–1863)
  • Ora Carpenter (1863–1865)
  • Rueben Marsh (1865–1868)
  • Andrew H. Alexander (1868–1870)
  • William F. Bucknor (1870–1874)
  • Christopher C. Hart (1874–1875)
  • Hezekiah E. Osteen (1875–1876)
  • William A. Cone (1876–1885)
  • Barton F. Brooks (1885–1886)
  • Uriah M. Bennett (1886–1887)
  • G. P. Healy (1887–1889)
  • William K. Turner (1889)
  • Henry Stevenson (1889–1891)
  • Jefferson Davis Kurtz (1891–1895)
  • John Frohock (1895)
  • John R. Turner (1895–1908)
  • E. L. Smith (1908–1916)
  • Lee Morris (1916–1924)
  • S. Edward Stone (1924–1953)
  • James H. Tucker (1953–1956)
  • Rodney B. Thursby (1956–1968)
  • Edwin H. Duff II (1968–1989)
  • Robert L. Vogel, Jr. (1989–2001)
  • Ben F. Johnson (2001–2017)
  • Mike Chitwood (2017–present)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Volusia Sheriff's Office". LinkedIn. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  2. ^ a b Gardner, Sheldon (September 18, 2024). "Volusia County approves $1.3B budget, bigger tax rate for sheriff". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. Retrieved 2025-02-13.
  3. ^ a b "About the Volusia Sheriff's Office". volusiasheriff.gov. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  4. ^ Gardner, Sheldon (November 5, 2024). "Sheriff Mike Chitwood declares himself winner in race that was never close". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. Retrieved 2025-02-13.
  5. ^ "Sheriff Michael J. Chitwood". volusiasheriff.gov. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  6. ^ "Brian Henderson". volusiasheriff.gov. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  7. ^ "In Memory". volusiasheriff.gov. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  8. ^ Weichselbaum, Simone (January 23, 2018). "How a pro-Trump county elected a pro-immigrant reformer as sheriff". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  9. ^ Jackman, Tom (June 2021). "Amid rising police violence, New York City police to train entire force in de-escalation". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  10. ^ Orecchio-Egresitz, Haven (June 2020). "A Florida sheriff credits Scottish police training techniques with a drop in use of force cases in his county". Business Insider. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  11. ^ Marx, Willem (June 24, 2020). "A Florida sheriff adopted Scottish police training. Now his deputies use force less often". NBC News. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  12. ^ Baker, Al (December 11, 2015). "U.S. Police Leaders, Visiting Scotland, Get Lessons on Avoiding Deadly Force". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  13. ^ Nickeas, Peter (December 18, 2020). "Here's what police chiefs think Biden should do to help address issues with law enforcement". CNN. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  14. ^ Stantucci, Jeanine (September 19, 2024). "Florida sheriff shames 2 more kids after school threats. Is it a good idea?". USA Today. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  15. ^ Ruth, Chasidy (September 13, 2024). "Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood has a message to Volusia County parents and students". Beacon Online News. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  16. ^ McBride, kelly (September 17, 2024). "Journalists are mostly resisting this sheriff's horrible precedent of naming a child". poynter.org. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  17. ^ "Letters: Pointless 'perp walk'". Orlando Sentinel. 2024-09-29. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  18. ^ "VSO History". volusiasheriff.gov. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
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