Press Release
By Sheriff Bill Leeper, 1-2-25 From Yulee News
The faith and confidence that the voters have had to elect me as Sheriff four times, the last two unopposed, is overwhelming and has truly been the highlight of my long 47-year law enforcement career.
As I start my 4th term on January 7, 2025, there will be a lot of challenges ahead with the rapid growth that our county is experiencing. Those challenges include staying ahead of this growth with additional personnel, resources, up-to-date equipment and technology, as well as training to make sure we are providing our citizens with the best services possible.
The Sheriff’s Office provides law enforcement services to Nassau County which consists of approximately 725 square miles of land and water. There are three incorporated and over thirty unincorporated communities within Nassau County. We also provide mutual aid throughout the State of Florida in times of emergencies and/or natural disasters.
Nassau County serves as the gateway to Northeast Florida, has served as host to several U.S. Presidents and is the first and last line of defense in Northeast Florida. Nassau County strategically sits between Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base, two miles to the Northeast, and Mayport Naval Station, ten miles to the Southeast. Jacksonville International Airport is approximately six miles to the South. There are two International Paper Mills (Rayonier & West-Rock) and the Port of Fernandina, which services ships from around the world, situated on Amelia Island. There is a Regional Air Traffic Control Center located in the Northwestern part of the county in Hilliard. Major roadways include I-95, SR-A1A, US-17, US-1, and US-301. Rail lines of CSX and AMTRAK travel through Nassau County. All of these are a concern for Homeland Security.
Nassau County is bordered by Jacksonville to the South and Georgia to the North, which creates additional challenges as individuals from other areas think they can come in to our county to commit crimes and leave. That’s why we continue to work closely with other agencies, local, state, and federal to make sure those criminals are caught and held accountable.
Making the most of technology to maintain low crime, meeting the needs of the community and keeping up with growth are among the long-term priorities. Perhaps most significantly, deputies will continue to balance being tough on criminals while maintaining a strong philosophy of partnering with the community. Law enforcement agencies can do both — be tough on crime while being community service oriented. Our community wants us to be both, and I believe we are among the best at it. We are a leader in law enforcement professionalism, we are forward-thinking, and we are making a difference.
Among the long-term goals is implementing multiple technological advancements. The agency is currently developing a Realtime Crime Center, or R.C.C. The R.C.C. will help reduce crime by having our crime analysts utilizing the latest technology and providing real-time information to field units about potential suspects or known felony offenders in an area where a crime may have just occurred. It will also support large-scale incident management teams when we have wildfires, hurricanes or significant incidents in which many deputies are needed. As we build out the Nassau County Public Safety Training Complex, this will allow us to provide enhanced training to our personnel, as well as train with other agencies. It also allows for better regional training for natural disasters, active shooters and other threats. Our training staff should move in to our new classroom training building in 2025 and we also hope to break ground on our new K-9 training area.
When it comes to the community’s young people, deputies will continue to mentor students, and the agency will continue to partner with organizations that help keep at-risk students safe and on the right path. NCSO also works closely with organizations that address the needs of at-risk young children. I firmly believe that an investment in our young people in all areas of our county is an investment in our community’s future.
Keeping crime low also ranks high on the priority list. Nassau County is one of the safest counties in Florida and the county’s crime rate has gone down over the past 12 years in spite of the increase in population and tourism. This is due to the proactive hard work of the men and women of NCSO, as well as working with and educating our citizens and business owners on ways to reduce crime opportunities. However, it will become increasingly difficult to keep our crime rate low in the future unless we stay ahead of the rapid growth our county is experiencing. For example, last year our calls for service increased 24 percent over the previous year and is expected to continue to rise.
Many property crimes could be reduced if individuals would simply lock their vehicle and house doors. Many criminals break into unlocked doors and steal whatever they can because it’s a crime of opportunity. Those who sell illegal drugs in our community need to be in jail. Those who are addicted to drugs need help to get them off their dependency. We provide many programs within the Nassau County Jail to help those who need help and want help. Our goal is to get them to be productive members of society and stay out of the criminal justice system.
We will continue to increase our community outreach through a variety of programs to ensure we are engaging our citizens on a positive level. We can’t be effective without our community’s support. It is imperative that we all work together to make sure we have a community where it is safe to live, work, play and raise a family.
If you see something suspicious, say something and call law enforcement. We have plenty of professional, competent and experienced individuals who care deeply about our community and are ready, willing, and able to step up to the task and keep our county as safe as possible.
