1. Open the Books: Full Transparency
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office operates on nearly $1 billion a year, yet citizens and even deputies rarely know how those dollars are spent. In recent years, access to budget information has even been stripped away from employees at lower ranks, creating a culture of secrecy. This lack of transparency fuels suspicion, erodes morale, and weakens trust between law enforcement and the community.
From Day One, I will open the books. Every dollar will be tracked, accounted for, and available to both the public and the employees who deserve to know how resources are being used. There will be no more million-dollar executive bonuses, no more ghost offices costing $35,000 a month, and no more luxury perks for a few at the top while frontline deputies go without basic tools.
Transparency also means honesty about internal affairs. For over a decade, PBSO has used two classifications for complaints: “IA cases” and “PC complaints.” Only one is released to the public, making the number of cases look far smaller than the reality. From Day One, this will end. Citizens will see the full picture of complaints, and employees will see the truth about accountability.
Trust is built on visibility. I will ensure that every dollar, every complaint, and every resource is openly tracked and explained. This agency belongs to the people of Palm Beach County, and the people have the right to know how it is run.
Inside PBSO, too many careers have stalled not because of performance, but because of politics and favoritism. Deputies often don’t even apply for specialty units because they believe the outcome is already decided. Many times, they’re right—before interviews even happen, the rumor mill already knows who’s getting the job.
Promotions have been equally broken. Rumors of leaked test answers and inside knowledge given to connected candidates have left many questioning the legitimacy of the system. The result is a leadership vacuum where talented deputies are overlooked while politically connected insiders rise. This damages morale and weakens the agency’s ability to serve the public effectively.
From Day One, promotions and specialty assignments will be merit-based, transparent, and fair. Outside evaluators will score promotional exams to eliminate bias and favoritism. Oversight panels will monitor specialty unit interviews to ensure they are fair, competitive, and transparent. And every applicant will be notified of results directly—no more learning by rumor or not hearing anything at all.
No deputy should need a phone call, family connection, or union sponsorship to advance in their career. True leadership comes from skill, integrity, and performance. Under my administration, deputies will know that hard work matters again. The path forward will be clear, and the message simple: positions will be earned, not given away.
Training at the Sheriff’s Office has been gutted to dangerous levels. In 2025, the new-hire program was cut from roughly four months to less than four weeks. That decision wasn’t about readiness—it was about convenience and speed. The result has been deputies sent to the field unprepared for the real-world dangers they face every day.
I’ve seen it firsthand: deputies who don’t retain what they’ve been taught, who fail to engage correctly in violent encounters, and who either overreact or underreact in dangerous situations. These failures should be caught during training—but too often, they are not. Even worse, concerns brought to command staff are often ignored.
Meanwhile, captains, majors, and colonels rarely participate in training themselves. Some haven’t trained meaningfully in decades, other than completing a basic firearms qualification. How can leaders know what works on the street if they never experience it themselves?
From Day One, training will be rebuilt from the ground up.
The days of weak, outdated, and politically convenient training are over. Palm Beach County deserves deputies who are ready for tomorrow’s threats, not just rushed through a system for appearances.
Too many command staff at PBSO are ghosts. They are rarely seen at critical incidents, almost never present on the street, and often absent from the very deputies they command. For 25 years, I have watched headquarters parking spots sit empty day after day. I have only seen the Sheriff on four or five calls in two decades—and always when deadly force was used, just long enough for a press conference before disappearing again.
This absence has consequences. Command staff are briefed after the fact but rarely see the realities of the job for themselves. They don’t know what deputies face, what equipment is lacking, or what resources are truly needed. With nearly $1 billion in resources, PBSO should be the best-equipped agency in the state—but leadership cannot make the right decisions when they are disconnected from the front lines.
From Day One, command presence will be restored. Captains and majors will be required to spend a set amount of time each month on the street with deputies. They will attend calls, observe operations, and connect directly with the men and women they lead. Problems will be addressed from firsthand knowledge, not secondhand reports.
Leaders cannot inspire or improve what they never see. Under my administration, PBSO command will lead from the front, not hide behind a desk. Deputies will once again know their leaders stand beside them, not above them.
Citizens deserve straight answers when they raise concerns—not stone walls, runarounds, or unanswered phones. Yet too often, citizens are ignored or misled when they try to get information from PBSO. I’ve tested it myself—calling numbers that rang for 10 to 15 minutes without an answer, or being put on hold endlessly.
Records and resources are mishandled, with staff sometimes giving incorrect or even deliberately false information. Internal Affairs complaints are hidden behind multiple designations so the true numbers appear smaller. Citizens trying to follow up on cases often have no idea what’s happening because detectives vary wildly in their responsiveness. This culture of poor communication has gone on for over 15 years.
From Day One, this will change. Every inquiry and complaint will be logged, tracked, and given a case number. Citizens will know exactly how their concerns are being handled and will receive accountability for follow-up. The two-tier system of hiding internal complaints will end—every complaint will count, and every complaint will be visible.
A world-class Sheriff’s Office must be open and responsive. Citizens who call for help or answers should not be ignored, redirected, or deceived. Under my leadership, PBSO will rebuild trust by ensuring that every citizen knows their concerns are heard, logged, and addressed with honesty and transparency.
PBSO has one of the largest budgets in Florida, yet resources are often wasted on luxury perks and failed projects instead of frontline deputies. Colonels making $300,000 a year are assigned $110,000 Denali SUVs. A “temporary” executive office in Palm Beach Gardens continues to cost $35,000 a month long after headquarters was renovated. A gym with $25,000 in new equipment sits unused.
For 25 years, deputies were told a new report-writing system was “six months away.” Motorola was paid over $19 million during that time and failed to deliver. Only now, after decades of wasted time and money, is another company being paid to build one.
Meanwhile, patrol deputies go without the resources they need. Training is cut, equipment is delayed, and frontline units struggle while waste piles up at the top.
From Day One, I will cut the waste and redirect funds where they belong—patrol, training, and equipment. There will be no more Denalis for executives, no more ghost offices, no more massive bonuses for political insiders. Every dollar will go toward making PBSO a world-class agency where the men and women risking their lives daily are properly equipped and supported.
The people of Palm Beach County deserve an agency that spends their money wisely. Under my leadership, they will get one.
At PBSO, misconduct has too often been handled differently depending on rank. Deputies openly joke about what it would actually take to get fired—because they’ve seen almost no one held accountable. I have personally seen deputies and supervisors arrested for DUI, domestic violence, disorderly conduct, and misconduct on duty, and still keep their jobs. Others caught lying during investigations or engaged in gross insubordination received little more than slaps on the wrist.
Higher-ranking staff are given special privileges in discipline cases that a frontline deputy would never get. And the worst part is—everyone knows it. This culture of selective accountability has poisoned morale, damaged credibility, and left the public questioning our integrity.
From Day One, that ends. Misconduct will be handled equally, regardless of rank. A rookie deputy or a colonel—the standard will be the same. Gross negligence or serious misconduct will result in termination or demotion, no matter how connected the individual may be. Supervisors and command staff will be held to an even higher standard, consistent with their authority and responsibility.
Law enforcement cannot selectively enforce laws on the public, and PBSO cannot selectively discipline its own. From Day One, accountability will be fair, consistent, and transparent. Rank will never again be a shield from consequences.
The politics and favoritism inside PBSO have crushed morale. Hard-working deputies feel overlooked while insiders benefit. Many deputies only stay because of the pension system, not because they feel valued. This culture of neglect and politics has left people disconnected and discouraged. This is true on the Law Enforcement and Corrections side of the house.
From Day One, I will begin a morale reset. Respect, professionalism, and pride will be restored at every level of the agency. Deputies will feel valued for their service, not their connections.
This begins with leadership showing up. Captains, majors, and executive staff will connect with the deputies they lead. Politics and the “good old boy” system will no longer dictate who gets opportunities—merit will. Recognition programs will highlight those who go above and beyond. Supervisors will be required to ensure their people are acknowledged and supported.
Morale is not fixed overnight, but it starts with a commitment to fairness and connection. Under my leadership, deputies and corrections officers will see a culture where hard work is recognized, transparency is real, and pride in the uniform is restored.
Patrol is the backbone of the Sheriff’s Office—the first on scene, the first contact with citizens, and the foundation of public safety. Yet for too long, patrol has been treated as a punishment assignment and left understaffed while resources flow to pet projects and specialty units.
Specialty positions are too often seen as career paths, while patrol is viewed as secondary. When deputies in specialized units are disciplined, they are “sent back to patrol” as if it were a demotion. This has created a culture where patrol deputies feel second-class.
From Day One, I will restore patrol as the priority. Staffing will be increased, resources redirected, and respect for the role renewed. A Master Deputy Program will be created, allowing deputies to earn recognition and advancement through testing in tactics, defensive skills, fitness, and job knowledge. Patrol deputies will finally have a career path with advancement opportunities.
Specialized units exist to support patrol, not overshadow it. Under my administration, patrol will once again be recognized as the backbone of PBSO and given the support it deserves.
Deputies deserve better than anonymous emails dictating policy changes with no explanation or opportunity for questions. Yet that is the norm inside PBSO. Policies are pushed down in faceless messages, promotions are quietly handed out, and communication is so cluttered that important directives get lost in the noise. Deputies can return from a week of vacation to hundreds of emails, many irrelevant, with no way to know what truly matters.
This will end on Day One. Communication will be direct, clear, and open. When policies change, they will be explained face-to-face with leadership available to answer questions. Captains and majors will be required to spend more time with their troops to ensure directives are understood. Email will be scaled back to essential communication so important messages are not drowned out.
Leadership cannot train deputies to always ask “why” on the street while refusing to answer “why” internally. From Day One, communication will mean dialogue—not directives from the shadows. Deputies will know not only what is happening, but why it is happening, and who to turn to with questions.
From the first day I take office, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office will be rebuilt on the principles of transparency, fairness, accountability, and respect. Training will be stronger, promotions will be earned, patrol will be prioritized, and every deputy and citizen will know their voice matters. Waste will be cut, morale restored, and leadership will once again stand shoulder to shoulder with the men and women doing the work.
This is how we create a world-class Sheriff’s Office—one that serves its citizens with integrity, supports its employees with fairness, and earns back the trust that has been lost.
From Day One, change is not just promised—it is delivered.
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Political advertisement paid for and approved by Beau Cisco, Republican, for Palm Beach County Sheriff.