* 2007-2008 Budget for Miami Police Department (current figures not released)

$316 -- Average law enforcement cost per citizen for budget year 2008-2009 for the 12 largest agencies (by population served)

The Pasco Sheriff’s Office continues to provide the most cost-effective law enforcement services of any Florida agency we have examined, large or small, rural or urban. The above graph shows the top 12 law enforcement agencies in the State, based on the population size of their jurisdictions.

The Pasco Sheriff's Office law enforcement jurisdiction covers the sixth largest population in the state. However, the PSO law enforcement budget has the lowest per capita costs of these 12 largest agencies (by population). The population of the unincorporated area of Pasco is currently just under 400,000 citizens.

As detailed in the graph, the 2008-2009 PSO law enforcement budget translates into a cost of $138 per Pasco citizen, which includes the Penny for Pasco sales tax, part of which is used to purchase agency vehicles and the laptop computers that deputies use in those vehicles. The average per capita cost for these other 11 largest agencies is about $316 per person. The Polk County Sheriff's Office has the next lowest per capita law enforcement costs, $219 per person, for the same budget year. The Pasco Sheriff's Office is even more cost effective than smaller agencies such as the Hernando or Citrus County Sheriff's Offices!

Pasco Sheriff Bob White believes that public safety should be our community's top priority and he is committed to providing the best and most efficient law enforcement services possible with the resources provided by taxpaying citizens.

That is why we detail how budgets for the different law enforcement agencies in Florida differ and how that translates into officers on the street. The chart and graph below displays where Pasco County falls in the number of law enforcement officers per every 1,000 citizens. Not surprisingly, since we have the smallest budget, we also have the lowest ratio of officers.