Public Safety Coordinating Council

The Pinellas County Public Safety Coordinating Council (PSCC) operates per Florida Statute 951.26 to assess the population status of all detention and correctional facilities owned by Pinellas County. On October 16, 2007, the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners approved the Public Safety Coordinating Council designation as the Planning Council in line with Florida Statutes 394.657, County Planning Council or Committees.

Mission

Pursue fair and effective public safety strategies to encourage sound and efficient justice system operations, ensure access to needed programs and services, and promote opportunities for reform.

Vision

Guiding public safety through leadership, collaboration, engagement, innovation, and fairness.

Core Values

  • We will be responsive to the needs of our community
  • We will maintain ethical stewardship through our actions
  • We will be fair with respect to the dignity of every person, regardless of race, class, gender, or other characteristic.
  • We will respect individuals’ needs while recognizing our responsibility to the community as a whole.
  • We will be innovative in our approach to individuals who pose minimal public safety risk.
  • We will collaborate to ensure access to programs and services for individuals, specifically services that aid in stabilizing, diverting, and reintegrating those suffering from behavioral health needs.
  • We will seek data-driven decisions and results when available.

Membership

To ensure the Planning Council’s efficiency in planning and monitoring Criminal Justice Reinvestment grant dollars, Pinellas County’s PSCC members model combines the statutory PSCC members under Florida Statute Section 951.26 (1)(a) and the Planning Council (PC) statutory members under Florida Section 394.657 (2)(a) – totaling twenty-one (21) members.

Florida Statutes: 951.26 (1)(a) Public Safety Coordinating Councils shall consist of the following:

Current Members Title Statutorily Designated Membership
Bruce Bartlett State attorney Sixth Judicial Circuit – Pinellas & Pasco The state attorney, or an assistant state attorney designated by the state attorney.
Sara Mollo Public Defender Sixth Judicial Circuit – Pinellas & Pasco A public defender, or an assistant public defender designated by the public defender.
Shawn Crane Judge Sixth Judicial Circuit – Pinellas & Pasco A circuit judge designated by the chief judge of the circuit.
Dorothy Vaccaro Judge Sixth Judicial Circuit – Pinellas & Pasco A county court judge designated by the chief judge of the circuit.
Bob Gualtieri Sheriff, Chief Deputy Pinellas County The chief correctional officer.
Bob Gualtieri Sheriff, Chief Deputy Pinellas County The sheriff, if the sheriff is the chief correctional officer, or a person designated by the sheriff.
Chris Dudley Department of Correction Circuit 6 Administrator The state probation circuit administrator or a member designated by the state probation circuit administrator to be appointed to a 4-year term.
Dave Eggers Commissioner, Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners The chairperson of the board of county commissioners (BOCC) or another county commissioner as designee
Bob Gualtieri Sheriff, Chief Deputy Pinellas County If the county has such a program available, the director of any county probation or pretrial intervention program to be appointed to a 4-year term.
Jim Miller CEO, Operation PAR The director of a local substance abuse treatment program or a member designated by the director to be appointed to a 4-year term
Michael Jalazo CEO/Executive Director of PERC, People Empowering and Restoring Communities Representatives from county and state jobs programs and other community groups who work with offenders and victims, appointed by the chairperson of the BOCC to 4-year terms

Florida Statutes: 394.657 (2)(a) County Planning Councils must include the following:

Current Member Title Statutorily Designated Membership
Bruce Bartlett State attorney Sixth Judicial Circuit – Pinellas & Pasco The state attorney, or an assistant state attorney designated by the state attorney.
Sara Mollo Public Defender Sixth Judicial Circuit – Pinellas & Pasco A public defender, or an assistant public defender designated by the public defender.
Shawn Crane Judge, Sixth Judicial Circuit – Pinellas & Pasco A circuit judge designated by the chief judge of the circuit.
Dorothy Vaccaro Judge, Sixth Judicial Circuit – Pinellas & Pasco A county court judge designated by the chief judge of the circuit.
Bob Gualtieri Sheriff, Chief Deputy Pinellas County The chief correctional officer.
Bob Gualtieri Sheriff, Chief Deputy Pinellas County The sheriff, if the sheriff is the chief correctional officer, or a person designated by the sheriff.
Michael Loux Chief of The Largo Police Department The police chief, or a person designated by the local police chief’s association.
Chris Dudley Department of Correction Circuit 6 Administrator The state probation circuit administrator, or a person designated by the state probation circuit administrator.
Jennifer Parker District 6 Court Administrator The local court administrator, or a person designated by the local court administrator.
Dave Eggers Commissioner, Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners The chairperson of the board of county commissioners or another county commissioner designated by the chairperson,
Bob Gualtieri Sheriff, Chief Deputy Pinellas County The director of any county probation or pretrial intervention program, if the county has such a program.
Jim Miller CEO, Operation PAR The director of a local substance abuse treatment program, or a member designated by the director to be appointed to a 4-year term.
Maxine Booker CEO Personal Enrichment though Mental Health Services (PEHMS) The director of a community mental health agency, or a person designated by the director.
John Cornett DCF Behavioral Health Integration Specialist A representative of the substance abuse program office and the mental health program office of the DCF, selected by the substance abuse and mental health program supervisor of the district where the county is located.
Jessica Kushner NAMI Pinellas Senior Program Manager, Peer A primary consumer of mental health services, selected by the substance abuse and mental health program supervisor of the district in which the primary consumer resides.
Justin Shea Member of NAMI Pinellas Board of Directors, City of Gulfport A primary consumer of substance abuse services, selected by the substance abuse and mental health program supervisor of the district in which the primary consumer resides.
Dawn Handley NAMI Family Peer A family member of a primary consumer of community-based treatment services, selected by the abuse and mental health program supervisor of the district in which the family member resides.
Bob Neri LMHC, MCAP, Westcare Senior Vice President, Chief Program/Service Officer A representative from an area homeless program or a supportive housing program.
Reginald Allen Major, Superintendent at Bay Regional Juvenile Detention Center The director of the detention facility of the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), or a person designated by the director.
Melissa Reid Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) Circuit 6 Chief Probation Officer The chief probation officer of the DJJ, or an employee designated by the chief probation officer.

Meetings

The PSCC meets on the 1st Monday of each month from 2– 3:30 pm. Meetings are held at the Pinellas County Justice Center in the 3rd Floor Conference Room (Judicial Reception) – 14250 49th St N, Clearwater, FL 33762 unless otherwise noticed. Meetings may be rescheduled, or the council may call a special meeting at any regular meeting.

Contact

For more information, please contact:

Pinellas County Human Services – Justice Coordination
Yashira Gonzalez, Section Manager
440 Court Street, 2nd Floor
Clearwater, FL 33756
Main: 727-453-7441
Email: ygonzalez@pinellas.gov

Documents

  • Bylaws
  • 2022 Juvenile SIM Report
    • Transforming Services for Juveniles with Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders in Contact with the Juvenile Justice System.
  • 2022 Adult SIM Report
    • Policy Research Associates, Inc. (PRA) convened a cross-system group of criminal justice, behavioral health, and community stakeholders from Pinellas County, Florida for a Sequential Intercept Model (SIM) Mapping Workshop. The SIM Mapping Workshop was held September 22-23, 2022. The workshop was hosted and supported by the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners. Approximately 50 representatives from Pinellas County participated in the event.
  • Strategic Plan
  • Uniform Action Plan

Past Meetings

Date Title Attachments
December 2, 2024 Public Safety Coordinating Council Meeting AgendaReport
August 26, 2024 Public Safety Coordinating Council AgendaReport Minutes
May 6, 2024 Public Safety Coordinating Council AgendaMinutesReport
February 5, 2024 Public Safety Coordinating Council AgendaMinutesReport
December 18, 2023 Public Safety Coordinating Council AgendaMinutesReport
February 6, 2023 Public Safety Coordinating Council Meeting AgendaMinutesReport
December 5, 2022 Public Safety Coordinating Council Meeting AgendaMinutesReport
August 29, 2022 Public Safety Coordinating Council Meeting AgendaMinutesReport
May 2, 2022 Public Safety Coordinating Council Meeting – Cancelled Agenda
February 28, 2022 Public Safety Coordinating Council Meeting AgendaMinutesReport
November 15, 2021 Public Safety Coordinating Council Meeting AgendaMinutesReport