August 2026 MONTHLY BRIEFING Primary Topic: Deputy Wellness, Burnout & Retention City: Suburban Delray Beach

    “An agency cannot expect its employees to provide exceptional service to the public while ignoring the conditions that make exceptional service possible. Taking care of our deputies is not a luxury. It is a responsibility of leadership.”

During my 25 years with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, I witnessed firsthand the physical, emotional, and psychological demands placed on law enforcement professionals. Long shifts, traumatic incidents, difficult investigations, dangerous encounters, and the constant responsibility of making life-changing decisions are all part of the profession.   But there is another source of stress that deserves far more attention: the stress created inside the organization itself.

Poor leadership, inconsistent discipline, favoritism, unnecessary administrative pressure, mandatory overtime, and a perceived lack of fairness can create an environment where employees feel undervalued, unsupported, and increasingly disconnected from the profession they once loved.

Since announcing my candidacy for Sheriff, I have been contacted several times each month by current employees expressing concerns about morale, leadership, staffing, and the direction of the agency. Some have described conditions as the worst they have experienced in their careers.

These conversations are concerning. Although individual accounts do not establish the condition of the entire agency, they deserve to be heard and taken seriously.

Law enforcement employees understand that their jobs will be stressful. They accept the risks, difficult hours, and enormous responsibilities that come with wearing the uniform.

What they should not have to accept is an organizational culture that makes an already difficult profession unnecessarily harder.

Research into police occupational stress has consistently identified organizational factors, including management practices, workplace support, administrative demands, and organizational fairness, as important contributors to stress and burnout.

The consequences do not stop with the employee. Exhaustion, frustration, disengagement, and low morale can affect decision-making, communication, productivity, and the quality of service citizens receive.

If we want professional deputies who demonstrate patience, sound judgment, compassion, and confidence, we must create an organization that supports those qualities.

A world-class Sheriff's Office begins with the people who make it work.

The first step toward improving employee wellness is addressing the workplace conditions that contribute to unnecessary stress.

Employees should not have to wonder whether promotions are based on merit, whether discipline will be applied consistently, or whether speaking honestly about organizational problems will damage their careers.

A professional agency must have clear expectations, transparent processes, and leaders who are held to the same standards as the people they supervise.

During my career, I saw how effective supervisors could build confidence, develop employees, and create teams that performed exceptionally well under difficult circumstances. I also saw how poor leadership could undermine morale, discourage initiative, and cause capable employees to lose faith in the organization.

As Sheriff, I would begin by reviewing the policies and practices that directly affect employee confidence in leadership.

That includes promotional processes, specialized assignments, disciplinary procedures, employee evaluations, transfers, and the handling of internal complaints.

I would establish clear expectations for supervisors and command staff regarding professionalism, communication, fairness, and employee development.

Supervisors would be evaluated not simply on statistics and administrative compliance, but also on their ability to develop personnel, maintain professional standards, resolve problems, and retain qualified employees.

I would also establish a confidential employee feedback process that allows deputies, corrections personnel, dispatchers, and civilian employees to identify organizational concerns without fear of retaliation.

Not every complaint will be justified, and not every employee will agree with every leadership decision. But every employee deserves a fair process and an opportunity to be heard.

If we want employees to trust the organization, leadership must first demonstrate that it is worthy of their trust.

Law enforcement will never be a stress-free profession. But there is a difference between unavoidable operational stress and preventable organizational exhaustion.

One of the most troubling examples involves our corrections personnel.

Throughout my career, I heard repeated accounts of corrections deputies being required to work mandatory overtime, sometimes multiple times during a single week. I also became aware of deputies sleeping in their vehicles between shifts because returning home would leave them with too little time to rest before reporting back to work.

That should concern every citizen of Palm Beach County.

A fatigued corrections deputy is responsible for maintaining security, managing inmates, recognizing medical emergencies, and making rapid decisions in potentially dangerous situations.

Patrol deputies, dispatchers, and civilian employees face their own versions of these pressures.

Fatigue is not simply an employee comfort issue. It is an operational readiness issue.

As Sheriff, I would conduct a comprehensive review of staffing levels, overtime practices, scheduling policies, and workload distribution throughout the agency.

Particular attention would be given to divisions experiencing chronic vacancies, recurring mandatory overtime, and unusually high employee turnover.

I would establish fatigue-management practices that consider consecutive work hours, adequate recovery time, and the cumulative effects of repeated overtime assignments, while maintaining operational readiness.

Employee mental health resources would also become a meaningful part of our wellness strategy.

That means confidential access to qualified mental health professionals, effective peer-support programs, post-critical-incident assistance, and training that helps supervisors recognize when employees may be struggling.

Participation in voluntary wellness services should not automatically become a career liability. Employees must understand the limits of confidentiality, but they should also feel comfortable seeking help before a manageable problem becomes a crisis.

Mental health support must extend beyond sworn deputies to include corrections personnel, dispatchers, and civilian employees who experience substantial occupational stress.

We should also recognize the importance of families. Spouses and children often experience the secondary effects of law enforcement stress, including unpredictable schedules, emotional withdrawal, and missed family events.

Where practical, I would support family education, wellness resources, and programs that help employees maintain healthy relationships outside the workplace.

We cannot expect our employees to make good decisions under pressure if we consistently deny them the conditions necessary to remain physically and mentally prepared.

Recruiting qualified law enforcement employees is expensive and time-consuming.

Every deputy who leaves takes years of training, institutional knowledge, community relationships, and operational experience with them.

When an experienced employee leaves because of poor leadership, limited opportunity, or an unhealthy work environment, the organization loses more than a position on a staffing chart.

It loses an investment.

A Sheriff's Office should not have to rely solely on competitive salaries, benefits, or retirement incentives to convince employees to remain.

Compensation matters, but so do professional respect, career advancement, fair treatment, quality supervision, and the opportunity to contribute meaningfully.

As Sheriff, I would establish a retention strategy built around understanding why employees stay, why they leave, and what leadership can reasonably do to improve their experience.

That begins with meaningful exit interviews and confidential employee surveys. We should be looking for patterns involving specific divisions, assignments, supervisors, and organizational practices.

I would also strengthen mentorship and professional development programs.

New deputies should have access to experienced personnel who can help them develop sound judgment, professional confidence, and a clear understanding of career opportunities.

Experienced employees should have opportunities to become instructors, mentors, field training officers, and future supervisors.

Promotions and specialized assignments must be based on demonstrated qualifications, performance, and merit rather than personal relationships or political influence.

I would place particular emphasis on developing the next generation of leadership.

There is value in retaining experienced employees, but there is also an obligation to mentor and prepare others to replace that experience.

A healthy organization should not depend on a small group of favored individuals repeatedly returning to leadership positions while qualified employees struggle to advance.

Recognition must also become more meaningful.

Not every outstanding employee receives a major award or participates in a high-profile investigation. Many of the agency's most valuable people are the dependable deputies, corrections officers, dispatchers, and civilian professionals who quietly perform their responsibilities exceptionally well every day.

They deserve recognition, professional respect, and leaders who understand their contributions.

Retention is not simply about convincing employees to stay. It is about building an organization they are proud to remain part of.

Some may ask why employee wellness should be a priority for the Sheriff when the primary responsibility of the agency is public safety.

The answer is simple.

Employee wellness and public safety are not competing priorities. They are directly connected.

A deputy who is exhausted, frustrated, poorly supervised, or emotionally overwhelmed may struggle to provide the level of patience, attention, and sound judgment the public deserves.

A corrections deputy working repeated mandatory overtime may experience fatigue that affects awareness and decision-making.

A dispatcher under constant staffing pressure may find it more difficult to manage the emotional and cognitive demands of emergency communications.

An agency experiencing high turnover must continually devote resources to recruitment, training, and replacing experience rather than strengthening its existing workforce.

These conditions can contribute to slower service, avoidable mistakes, employee disengagement, and reduced public confidence.

They can also increase costs through overtime, recruitment expenses, training demands, and potentially preventable liability.

The public has every right to expect professional conduct, accountability, and exceptional service from its Sheriff's Office.

But those expectations must be matched by leadership willing to provide the training, resources, supervision, and working conditions that support professional performance.

A healthy organization is not one without discipline, standards, or accountability.

It is an organization where those standards are applied fairly, employees are properly prepared, and leadership recognizes that its decisions have consequences for both personnel and the public.

I spent 25 years serving the citizens of Palm Beach County. I know the dedication and professionalism of the men and women who work for the Sheriff's Office because I served alongside them.

I also know that many employees want nothing more than to do their jobs well, provide for their families, and take pride in the uniform they wear.

They deserve leadership that respects that commitment.

If elected Sheriff, I will make employee wellness, organizational fairness, and professional development central responsibilities of agency leadership.

I will examine the practices contributing to unnecessary burnout, improve transparency in promotions and assignments, strengthen mental health resources, and hold supervisors accountable for creating professional working environments.

I will prioritize keeping experienced, qualified employees while building opportunities for the next generation.

And I will never confuse demanding high standards with treating employees poorly.

We cannot build a world-class Sheriff's Office by exhausting the very people responsible for making it world-class.

The citizens of Palm Beach County deserve deputies who are prepared, motivated, professional, and proud of the organization they represent.

Our employees deserve leadership that makes those expectations achievable.

That is the kind of Sheriff's Office I intend to build.

  When Leadership Fails, the Community Pays the Price

The stress of law enforcement doesn't always come from the streets. Sometimes, the greatest stress comes from within the agency itself.

Research has repeatedly demonstrated that poor leadership, internal politics, inconsistent discipline, perceived favoritism, and organizational uncertainty contribute significantly to officer stress, burnout, and declining job performance.

A 2010 study published in the Journal of Criminal Justice by Jon M. Shane found that organizational stress was associated with diminished police performance. A 2019 systematic review published in BMC Public Health, examining more than 15,000 officers, also identified significant relationships between organizational stress, psychological distress, and emotional exhaustion.

Why should the citizens of Palm Beach County care? Because the quality of leadership inside the Sheriff's Office ultimately affects the quality of service delivered outside of it.

During my 25 years with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, I witnessed what I believe were several systemic leadership failures. Since announcing my campaign for sheriff, I have been contacted several times each month by current employees expressing frustration, uncertainty, and a desire for meaningful change.

The message I keep hearing is that morale has never been this bad. Employees are describing an environment where motivation is suffering, confidence in leadership is declining, and people are increasingly discouraged about coming to work.

How can we expect employees to thrive under these conditions? More importantly, how can we expect our citizens to receive the highest level of service and protection when the people responsible for providing it are experiencing this degree of stress and uncertainty?

When employees feel unsupported, undervalued, or afraid to speak up, the consequences can extend beyond morale. Burnout can affect initiative, productivity, decision-making, and the willingness to go above and beyond for the public.

Palm Beach County deserves deputies, corrections officers, dispatchers, and civilian employees who are motivated, properly trained, supported, and proud of the organization they represent.

And those employees deserve leadership that earns their trust, treats them fairly, holds everyone to the same standards, and gives them the resources to succeed.

We cannot build a world-class Sheriff's Office without first building an environment where world-class employees can thrive.

The citizens deserve better. So do the men and women who serve them.

Research references:

• Shane, J. M. (2010). Organizational Stressors and Police Performance. Journal of Criminal Justice, 38(4), 807–818. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2010.05.008
• Purba, A., & Demou, E. (2019). The Relationship Between Organisational Stressors and Mental Wellbeing Within Police Officers: A Systematic Review. BMC Public Health. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6792329/

 If I Were Sheriff: Making Psychological Wellness a Priority Through Preventive Checkups

Protecting Those Who Protect Our Community

Law enforcement officers are routinely required to maintain their physical fitness, qualify with firearms, complete mandatory training, and demonstrate their readiness to perform their duties. Yet one of the most important aspects of their professional readiness, their psychological well-being, often receives attention only after a problem develops.

I believe it is time to change that approach.

During my 25 years with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, I witnessed firsthand the cumulative effects of stress, traumatic incidents, organizational pressures, and personal challenges on law enforcement personnel. Deputies, corrections officers, dispatchers, and civilian employees are not immune to the psychological demands of their profession. They are human beings who carry tremendous responsibilities, often without adequate opportunities to address the stress they experience.

If I were Sheriff, I would introduce a proactive psychological wellness program that includes periodic and randomly selected confidential psychological checkups for employees.

The purpose would not be to punish, investigate, or question an employee's ability to perform their job. It would be to identify concerns early, provide professional support, and prevent manageable stress from developing into more serious psychological or behavioral problems.

Too often, law enforcement agencies respond to psychological concerns only after an employee experiences a crisis, demonstrates troubling behavior, or becomes involved in an incident that brings their well-being into question.

By that point, opportunities for early intervention may have been missed.

Research has consistently demonstrated that law enforcement personnel face elevated occupational stress and that organizational pressures, inadequate supervisory support, and cumulative exposure to traumatic events can contribute to psychological distress and burnout.

A 2019 systematic review published in BMC Public Health examined 15 studies involving more than 15,000 police officers and identified significant relationships between organizational stressors and negative psychological outcomes (Purba & Demou, 2019).

If we recognize the importance of preventive physical healthcare, why shouldn't we apply the same philosophy to psychological wellness?

Under this initiative, employees would have access to confidential wellness appointments with licensed mental health professionals experienced in law enforcement and public safety.

In addition to routine wellness opportunities, employees could be randomly selected for preventive checkups throughout the year. Random selection would help normalize participation and reduce the perception that someone has been singled out because of suspected problems.

These appointments would provide opportunities to discuss occupational stress, sleep disturbances, burnout, family pressures, traumatic experiences, and other concerns before they become overwhelming.

Confidentiality would be essential to the program's success. 

Routine wellness conversations should not become disciplinary investigations or be used to influence promotions and assignments. Appropriate safeguards would separate clinical information from personnel decisions, subject to applicable laws and narrowly defined safety exceptions.

Participation in a wellness checkup should never automatically suggest that an employee is unfit for duty. A preventive wellness appointment and a formal fitness-for-duty evaluation are two very different things, and that distinction must remain clear.

I would also seek input from employees, mental health professionals, labor representatives, and legal counsel before establishing any mandatory participation requirements.

This initiative is not simply about improving employee morale. It is about improving the quality of service provided to the citizens of Palm Beach County.

Stress, exhaustion, and burnout can affect concentration, judgment, communication, patience, and professional performance. These are precisely the abilities our deputies, corrections officers, and dispatchers depend upon every day.

When employees receive appropriate support, we create better conditions for sound decision-making, effective communication, professional conduct, and long-term career satisfaction.

The potential benefits extend beyond the individual employee to their families, coworkers, and the communities they serve.

For too long, portions of law enforcement culture have treated seeking psychological assistance as a sign of weakness. That attitude must change.

An employee should be able to speak with a mental health professional without fearing embarrassment, professional retaliation, or damage to their reputation.

Leadership must establish a culture in which psychological wellness is viewed as a normal component of professional readiness, not an indication of personal failure.

Of course, random checkups alone will not solve every problem. We must also address excessive workloads, poor supervisory practices, organizational uncertainty, and other conditions that contribute to employee stress in the first place.

We cannot ask our employees to maintain the highest standards of professionalism while ignoring the psychological pressures that may undermine their ability to succeed.

If I were Sheriff, psychological wellness would become a proactive responsibility of the organization rather than an afterthought.

I would work toward establishing a comprehensive employee wellness program built around preventive psychological checkups, confidential counseling, early intervention, supervisor education, and meaningful support following critical incidents.

The program would be evaluated for employee trust, accessibility, participation, and measurable wellness outcomes. Random selection would be a method of offering support, not a substitute for evidence-based clinical care.

We invest millions of dollars in vehicles, equipment, facilities, and technology. We must be equally committed to investing in the people who make our Sheriff's Office function.

The strongest Sheriff's Office is not simply the one with the best equipment. It is the one that takes care of its people before they reach a breaking point.

Our employees deserve that commitment, and the citizens of Palm Beach County deserve the benefits of a healthy, professional, and resilient law enforcement agency.

1. Purba, A., & Demou, E. (2019). The Relationship Between Organisational Stressors and Mental Wellbeing Within Police Officers: A Systematic Review. BMC Public Health, 19, 1286. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-7609-0
2. Violanti, J. M., et al. (2017). Police Stressors and Health: A State-of-the-Art Review. Policing: An International Journal, 40(4), 642–656. https://doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-06-2016-0097
3. International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). Officer Safety and Wellness Resources. Guidance on promoting employee wellness, reducing stigma, and improving access to psychological support. https://www.theiacp.org

 Public Safety Problems Facing Boynton Beach and Suburban Delray Beach

As Sheriff, I would review how patrol personnel are deployed throughout District 4, focusing on actual calls for service, response times, crime patterns, and recurring community concerns.

PBSO currently identifies District 4 as covering approximately 38 square miles, staffed by 54 sworn law enforcement officers and 10 civilian support employees. These numbers provide a starting point for evaluating whether available resources meet the community's needs. 

My priorities would include:

• Evaluate patrol staffing based on workload, geography, and actual community needs.
• Increase proactive patrols in residential neighborhoods and commercial areas.
• Encourage deputies to interact with residents outside of enforcement situations.
• Require supervisors to identify recurring problems and develop measurable solutions.
• Evaluate response times and patrol availability to identify opportunities for improvement.

A strong Sheriff's Office should be visible in the neighborhoods it protects, not simply respond when something goes wrong.

Traffic safety should be a consistent part of everyday patrol operations, not something addressed only through occasional enforcement campaigns.

I would direct district leadership to identify the most dangerous intersections and roadways using crash reports, traffic studies, and documented community complaints.

My priorities would include:

• Target dangerous driving along Atlantic Avenue, Linton Boulevard, Jog Road, Military Trail, and State Road 7.
• Increase enforcement around schools, pedestrian crossings, and residential community entrances.
• Coordinate with county traffic engineers to identify dangerous roadway designs and recurring hazards.
• Establish a straightforward process for residents and HOAs to request traffic safety evaluations.
• Measure success through reductions in crashes, injuries, and repeat complaints rather than citation totals.

Traffic enforcement should focus on saving lives and preventing injuries, not generating revenue.

Criminals do not recognize municipal boundaries, and neither should our investigative coordination.

As Sheriff, I would strengthen communication among patrol deputies, investigators, crime analysts, and neighboring police departments to identify patterns of criminal activity.

My priorities would include:

• Improve follow-up investigations involving residential burglaries, vehicle thefts, and repeat property offenses.
• Identify crime patterns crossing district and municipal boundaries.
• Strengthen cooperation with the Delray Beach Police Department and neighboring law enforcement agencies.
• Encourage lawful use of available surveillance footage, investigative technology, and crime analysis.
• Improve victim communication so residents understand the status of their cases.

Every reported crime represents an opportunity to identify criminal activity, prevent additional victims, and build community confidence.

With numerous retirement and age-restricted communities throughout suburban Delray Beach, protecting older residents should be a major priority.

I would expand prevention efforts that help residents recognize scams and financial exploitation before they become victims.

My priorities would include:

• Conduct regular fraud awareness presentations in retirement communities and community centers.
• Provide education on telephone scams, contractor fraud, identity theft, and financial exploitation.
• Strengthen investigative coordination involving elder abuse and exploitation.
• Improve deputy training involving dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and cognitive impairment.
• Develop stronger partnerships with caregivers, senior organizations, and appropriate social service providers.

Our responsibility is not simply to investigate crimes against vulnerable residents. It is to help prevent those crimes from happening.

Not every neighborhood problem requires an arrest, but recurring problems deserve attention.

As Sheriff, I would emphasize problem-oriented policing that identifies the underlying causes of repeated complaints rather than treating every incident as an isolated call for service.

My priorities would include:

• Identify locations generating repeated calls for trespassing, disturbances, vandalism, and other complaints.
• Coordinate with property owners, HOAs, and county agencies to develop practical solutions.
• Ensure deputies receive training to distinguish criminal behavior from mental health emergencies and other noncriminal issues.
• Improve communication between district supervisors and residents reporting recurring concerns.
• Track repeat complaints and evaluate whether interventions produce lasting improvements.

Residents should not have to report the same problem repeatedly without seeing a reasonable effort to resolve it.

School safety begins with preparation, communication, and relationships.

I would support stronger coordination between the Sheriff's Office, schools, families, and community organizations to identify risks early and promote positive interactions between deputies and young people.

My priorities would include:

• Strengthen cooperation among school resource deputies, patrol personnel, and school administrators.
• Improve training in behavioral threat recognition, crisis intervention, and early warning indicators.
• Support educational programs addressing substance abuse, bullying, personal safety, and responsible decision-making.
• Encourage mentorship and positive interactions between deputies and local youth.
• Develop coordinated responses to recurring juvenile crime and school-related safety concerns.

The goal is to prevent violence, protect students, and build positive relationships that last beyond the classroom.

Residents deserve to know how their Sheriff's Office is performing and whether their concerns are being addressed.

PBSO District 4 already identifies partnerships with the Alliance of Delray, residential security directors, county officials, and houses of worship. I would build upon those relationships while making district leadership accessible to all residents. 

My priorities would include:

• Establish regular public meetings with district leadership and community representatives.
• Publish accessible district-level information on crime, response times, and enforcement priorities.
• Create a consistent process for receiving, tracking, and responding to community concerns.
• Hold supervisors accountable for addressing recurring problems and maintaining professional standards.
• Ensure residents can communicate directly with their Sheriff's Office without unnecessary administrative obstacles.

Transparency should not be a campaign promise. It should be a daily operational responsibility.

Suburban Delray Beach deserves a Sheriff's Office that understands its neighborhoods, respects its residents, and recognizes that public safety means more than simply responding to emergencies.

It means protecting homes, keeping roads safe, preventing crime, supporting seniors, and maintaining the quality of life that residents have worked hard to establish.

During my 25 years with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, I learned that effective law enforcement starts with leadership. Deputies need quality training, clear expectations, adequate resources, and supervisors who understand the responsibilities of the profession.

I also learned that many of the best solutions come from listening to the deputies working the streets and the residents living in the communities we serve.

As Sheriff, I will prioritize frontline law enforcement, responsible spending, meaningful community engagement, and accountability at every level of the organization.

I will not promise that every crime can be prevented or that every problem can be solved overnight.

I will promise that residents will be heard, problems will be addressed, and leadership will be expected to produce results.

Suburban Delray Beach deserves professional law enforcement, transparent leadership, and a Sheriff's Office that puts people before politics.

That is my commitment.