Subject:
Title
Grant Agreement with Florida’s Office of the Attorney General for the Fiscal Year 2025 Crime Stoppers Trust Fund Award on behalf of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.
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Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
Approval and execution by the County Administrator of the Grant Agreement with Florida’s Office of the Attorney General (OAG) for the Crime Stoppers Trust Fund Award.
• The PUR 2024 Provision of Commodities Produced by Forced Labor form was absent from the original agreement package and sent separately for execution.
• Execution of the agreement documents will be completed via AdobeSign link provided by the OAG.
• The Crime Stoppers Trust Fund grant award program engages the community, law enforcement and the media in a unified attempt to reduce crime.
• The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) houses the Crime Stoppers of Pinellas, Inc. program and manages all programmatic and financial aspects of the grant award.
• This award allocation of $189,151.43 supports salary costs for the Crime Stoppers Coordinator, operating expenses, crime tip rewards, and media campaigns from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026.
• No match is required.
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Strategic Plan:
Healthy and Safe Communities:
2.2 Enhance community safety
Summary:
This Grant award agreement provides funding for a Crime Stoppers Coordinator, operating costs, tip rewards, and media campaigns.
Background/Explanation:
In 1988, the Florida Legislature passed the Florida Crime Stoppers Act and created a trust fund by imposing an additional $20.00 surcharge on fines for criminal offenses collected by county and circuit court clerks. The funding is distributed through the OAG Crime Stoppers Trust Fund.
Crime Stoppers of Pinellas County, Inc. operates through the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office and has received funding from the trust fund annually since 2001. The mission is to provide law enforcement with an additional tool in the fight against crime by promoting community involvement through anonymity and rewards for citizens that provide information resulting in an arrest. As of April 2025, PCSO’s FY24-25 Crime Stoppers award has supported 985 tips and13 tip rewards that resulted in 12 arrests, 20 cleared cases, and 12 captured fugitives.
Fiscal Impact:
Funding in an amount not to exceed $189,151.43 will be provided to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office by the FY25-26 Crime Stoppers Trust Fund for the period of July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. No match is required. Funds will be available for distribution under the Sheriff’s Grants and Agreements budget.
Delegated Authority:
Authority for the County Administrator to sign this agreement is granted under Code Section 2-62 (a)(1).
Staff Member Responsible:
Karen Yatchum, Director, Human Services
Partners:
Florida’s Office of the Attorney General
Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office
Crime Stoppers of Pinellas County, Inc.
Attachments:
FY25-26 Award Allocation
Submitted Grant Application
FY25-26 Crime Stoppers Grant Award Agreement
PUR 2024 Provision of Commodities Produced by Forced Labor