SHARE:  
January 17, 2023
PCSO Makes an Impression with Imprinting 
 by Laura L. Sullivan, Public Relations Specialist
Remember how excited you were as a kid to have your back-to-school outfit and a backpack full of new supplies? Even as an adult the best thing about starting a new job is the new clothes and equipment. Human Resources would like me to remind you about the fantastic benefits, superlative training, and supportive work environment here too… but we all know that part of the appeal of becoming a deputy at the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) is the sharp uniform. Other units are no slouches either – many have agency polos, Oxfords, or other specialized clothing, all beautifully customized by the Imprinting component of Uniform Supply.

Each newly hired deputy is outfitted with 57 different types of garments and equipment in addition to their firearms and Taser. Before a new group starts the academy or begins their in-house training, they pay a visit to Uniform Supply. It takes about 45 minutes to fit a deputy with everything they’ll need, from belt keepers that snap their duty belt to their regular trouser belt, to their shiny five-pointed badge. They’ll use some of the items like handcuffs almost every day. Other things – like the campaign hat – might only come out a few times in a career. Some are tiny, like the washers, whistles, toggles, and tie tacks. But all of them are essential for a deputy to perform their duties.

Many items are standard size, but a lot of them are fitted. Some deputies come in knowing their size, while others are a little unrealistic about what size they need. Purchasing Manager Eric Vincent said, “We make sure we guide them through that, because the uniform needs to look good. If they need the next size up, we’ll tell them… in a professional way. When deputies come in for bigger pants the standard joke is that they shrunk in the wash.” Vincent knows better – he always chooses material that isn’t prone to shrinking.

Five of the standard uniform items go through Imprinting, which includes embroidery and the heat press. They used to use silk screening, which was labor intensive and required a lot of clean-up. “A member can heat press a hundred garments in just a couple of hours,” Vincent said. “The quality is so much better. On silk screens the design would crack and fade. This holds up a lot better.”

But most of the important garments are embroidered. This isn’t like your nana sewing flowers on a hankie. The most common pattern – the PCSO star – has almost 17,000 stitches. The word “SHERIFF” that appears on the back of many shirts has nearly 37,000 stitches. They are sewn on industrial machines that can handle six garments at once. “The embroidery isn’t just one big pass and it’s done,” Vincent said. “It will start with the gold and do a certain outline. Then the machine will stop and pivot around and do a layer of black.” Then it might return to gold, then a little blue, creating lines and layers that give the sheriff’s star richness and depth.

“There are different challenges for different garments,” he said. “The agency has gone to thinner, stretchy, wicking materials, which are comfortable to wear but are difficult to work with.” All embroidered garments are fastened in a hoop and backing is used to make sure the design stays straight and doesn’t bunch up. One garment has a flap that must be removed prior to imprinting and then sewn back into place. The heavy winter jacket is too puffy for the embroidery machine, so that has a star patch sewn onto it instead.

Uniform Supply keeps track of a staggering number of items. There are about 800 different part numbers for the Oxford shirts alone, when you consider men’s and women’s styles, size, color, and three options for sleeve length. “We’re trying to weed out some of the things that people rarely request, like men’s short sleeved Oxfords.” Things get tricky when a manufacturer discontinues a product, as recently happened with the long sleeve polo shirts. “Now I have to find another polo that is as close a match as possible, which isn’t easy to do.” It would look unprofessional to have two deputies standing next to each other in different shades of green.

Vincent’s career history makes him perfect for his position. He was a PCSO deputy from 1990-1993 so he knows the world of law enforcement. “I graduated from Florida State with my bachelor’s in criminology which opens just a couple of doors for you, one of which is to go into law enforcement. At the wise age of 19 I decided that’s what I wanted to do with my life.” Later he took a leave of absence and went back to college to get a degree in accounting. From there he got into purchasing and managing operations. He got accustomed to dealing with vast sums of money when he was the brand name pharmaceutical buyer for Eckerd Corporation, buying $7-billion a year for them. “I’d spend $240 million in a day. The first couple of multimillion dollar purchase orders I placed had me scared to death.”

Vincent came back to the PCSO in 2015 and is happy to be able to combine his experience in law enforcement and purchasing. “I know from my short stint as a deputy the kinds of demands they deal with every day. So being a part of supplying them with some of the tools they need to make the job a little better – and most of all safer – means a lot to me.”
A Century of Records: From Archives to ARMS Reports 
 by Laura L. Sullivan, Public Relations Specialist
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) keeps careful records and just about all of them are subject to Florida’s broad public records laws. Information within our expansive records system allow deputies to read about previous incidents that may help them stay safe or develop leads in active investigations. Archived records going back decades preserve all the crucial details of unsolved cold cases. The Records Division is made up of five units that take care of record keeping for the nation’s 15th largest sheriff’s office.

One aspect of Records is the Automated Records Management System (ARMS) Unit which builds the reports by which deputies document all their calls. “ARMS members are here 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said Records Manager Tara Weschler. “We never shut down.” Deputies call in to ARMS and work with a records technician to document all the people, places, vehicles, and other things associated with each call. Next comes the narrative which describes all pertinent events and information from the case. Some deputies write their own narrative and email it, but many compose it with ARMS over the phone. It is entirely in the deputy’s words – ARMS will only correct grammar and spelling. That report serves as a permanent documentation of events that may be used later in court. Everything from the simplest citizen contact to the most serious crime gets its own report.

The Seals and Expunges Unit takes care of records that need to be sealed or removed from the system pursuant to court orders. The Validations Unit makes sure that information that comes in over teletype, such as missing persons or stolen vehicles, is accurate and up to date.

The PCSO maintains reports that date back to the 1960s, booking photos from the 1940s, and sheriff’s ledgers from the 1920s. (You can view some of those historic ledgers in our lobby.) Cold case detectives work with Archive Records Specialist Michelle Battaglia to pull old cases or research a particular person. "I handle public records requests from anything that predates our digital system." Boxes of old case files are kept at Archives in a temperature and humidity controlled warehouse. “There's a chain of custody for the files," Battaglia said. "I log them out and once they're done I sign them back in. It's like checking out a book at the library." When people request old records that are on microfilm or microfiche Battaglia digitizes them.

Cold Case Detective Tom Lehn joined the PCSO after retiring from an agency that didn’t prioritize organizing archived files and didn’t have a records specialist dedicated to archives. “The difference is night and day,” Detective Lehn said. “I’ve requested files going back to the 1970s. Michelle works hard to provide immediate turnaround on requests.” Detective Lehn also worked for a while in the PCSO’s Public Records Processing Unit (PRPU) which handles records requests that cross multiple parts of the agency, such as requests from the media that might want jail records, forensics photos, or employee files. He has worked with Battaglia in both capacities. “Thanks to Michelle’s efforts I can generally respond to records requests and answer family requests within days rather than the weeks to months it used to take at my previous agency. The quick answers only add to the strong relationship between the PCSO and the public we serve.”

The final unit is the Records Request Unit, which provides such things as incident or offense reports, booking photos, or arrest affidavits to the public in accordance with Florida law. “Florida has the broadest public records laws in the country,” Weschler said. “Absent a statutory exemption, the information goes out.” The public may request records for any reason – they don’t have to say why they want them, and they can request anonymously. However, there are many statutes that restrict certain sensitive information, such as identifying information about child victims. If a minor is charged with a misdemeanor their information is withheld, but not if they are charged with a felony. “Every time someone makes a request we have to go through everything line by line.” They can’t give out information they shouldn’t, but also have to be careful not to withhold anything that should be public record.

“The sheriff wants to make it convenient for citizens to get records,” Weschler said. “We have a really transparent, generous, open, easy process for the public.”

The public can request records in person at the Sheriff’s Administration Building or at North District Station, by phone, fax, email, or on our website

Community Grant Applications Are Open
Every year the Sheriff’s Citizens Association funds local initiatives through its Community Grant Program. Awards of up to $1,000 will be given to programs that empower youth, support children and families, or to programs founded by young people. Funds for the award come from Citizens Association members’ annual dues and donations throughout the year. Last year the Citizens Association gave a total of $15,000 to worthy initiatives.

The Sheriff’s Citizens Association is a networking group of members who are dedicated to supporting and learning more about the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO). A committee votes on the winners. If your organization could use a little help in helping the community, please apply here. The application deadline is March 31, 2023.