Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sheriff's deputies credit training, technology for high clearance rates in DeBary
Summary
Volusia County Sheriff's Office District 6 officials presented a 2024 year-in-review to the City of DeBary Council, highlighting license-plate readers, traffic enforcement and an overall clearance rate well above national averages; council members asked for resident-versus-nonresident citation breakdowns and praised de-escalation efforts.
Captain Ben Israel, the District 6 commander for the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, presented the agency’s 2024 year-in-review to the City of DeBary City Council on Feb. 19, describing a year of high clearance rates and frequent use of technology and training to resolve incidents without loss of life.
The review emphasized investments in license-plate readers (LPRs), expanded traffic enforcement and training in de-escalation and less-lethal tactics. “I am the new captain here in District 6. I assumed command in October. What we’re gonna do this evening is present the 2024 year review,” Captain Ben Israel said.
The nut graf: Deputies and the city credited coordinated technology and targeted enforcement for helping recover stolen property, locate suspects who move through multiple jurisdictions and keep traffic incidents down; Lieut. Cameron Tucker said many incidents are committed by nonresidents passing through the city.
Tucker, who presented crime statistics and case examples, said the city’s LPRs and other technology were essential to several recoveries, including a stolen vehicle tracked to De Leon Springs and a multi-person arrest after vehicle burglaries in a subdivision. “In most instances … the cases are not being committed by people who live here in DeBary,” Tucker said, adding that the city’s location makes it a frequent pass-through for suspects.
Tucker described several incidents shown in a video the department played for council, including multiple mental-health calls that deputies resolved without fatal force through planning and patience. One detailed case involved a person described by family as autistic; deputies used coordination and additional resources to take the person into protective custody without injury. Tucker said the department’s computer-aided dispatch system can flag addresses requiring special response.
Tucker and Israel also reviewed traffic enforcement numbers for 2024: within DeBary alone deputies logged 5,083 traffic stops, issued 3,132 citations and 2,646 written warnings; they recorded 286 motor-vehicle crashes in the city, down from the prior year. Specific high-visibility operations yielded 291 daytime traffic stops (308 citations, 13 arrests, seven for DUI) and a New Year’s Eve operation that produced 265 stops, 90 citations and 17 arrests.
On crime-reporting standards, Tucker explained the statewide and national shift to incident-based reporting, saying the old Uniform Crime Reporting hierarchy covered fewer classifications and that the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) and Florida Incident-Based Reporting System (FIBRS) use many more categories, which can make totals appear higher even when incidents are falling.
Tucker summarized the 2024 clearance figures presented: the department reported a total of 494 Group A incidents with 385 cleared, a 77.94% clearance rate; for person crimes they reported an 87.22% clearance for the year. Tucker noted that the national average clearance rate is about 41 percent and called the local rate “an outstanding feat.”
Council members thanked deputies for their service and asked for follow-up data. Councilmember Papalardo requested the share of traffic citations issued to residents versus nonresidents, saying the nonresident share has been “trending in the low 60 percents” in earlier summaries; city staff and deputies said they are working on a methodology to tag citations by residence and will provide those numbers in the future.
City Manager Carmen (first name given in the meeting) and deputies said the city will propose additional LPR placements in next year’s budget and continue quarterly enforcement operations targeted at traffic and quality-of-life issues. The council and sheriff’s representatives discussed upcoming coordinated operations in 2025 and the city’s continued support for equipment and training.
The presentation closed with council praise for the department’s training, technology and community partnerships and no formal council action was taken on the presentation itself.
