Maitland City Talk

Task force participation reaps benefits for Maitland

The Maitland Police Department is continually looking for ways to expand its services while reducing or containing costs. In these economic times this has become a significant challenge as local municipal revenues are down and the general economy remains flat. To provide several critical services at a bargain cost, we have joined forces with several federal and local law enforcement agencies to join several task force initiatives. These task forces, most of which are funded with federal dollars, typically pay the vehicle, overtime and operating cost of each participant. We have found our participation increases the ability of our department to field a large contingency of trained investigators in numbers much greater than our own department has available. We also share in a percentage of assets that are forfeited as result of task force prosecutions that have funded Maitland Police Department purchases totaling in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. These funds have been used to furnish the interior of the new Police Headquarters building, purchase new weapons, computers, a K-9 dog, and fund the construction of the proposed police boathouse, all without cost to our residents. Here are some details on the four task force initiatives we participate in and their benefits:

IRS/Secret Service Financial Crimes Task Force

We have participated in the IRS/Secret Service Financial Crimes Task Force since its inception. This task force initiative concentrates its efforts on investigating crimes that involve financial fraud or schemes. One Maitland investigator is assigned to this initiative. The federal government pays for the investigator’s vehicle, operating expenses and overtime. The Maitland Police Department receives a percentage of any assets that have been forfeited as a result of a crime that has been investigated and prosecuted by this team. The benefit to our residents is the availability of a trained team of federal and local law enforcement investigators who are available to assist our department with any financial crime we may need to investigate. This task force has yielded a significant portion of our asset forfeiture revenue, and has resulted in the prosecution of several defendants for stealing millions of dollars.

FBI Violent Crimes Task Force

We are also an active participant in the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force. This task force, consisting of FBI agents and local law enforcement investigators, concentrates its efforts on targeting violent career criminals who pose a threat to our community. With offices located in our city, it has been successful in apprehending criminals who, if given the chance, would still be preying on our citizens and our community. The FBI pays for the investigator’s vehicle, overtime and operating costs. Our participation in this initiative helps our community stay safe, and several violent career criminals have been removed from our community as a result of its efforts.

DEA Drug Task Force

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Drug Task Force plays an important role in assisting us in controlling the distribution and use of illegal drugs in our city. An example of the effectiveness of this task force was recently observed when our city needed assistance with a pharmacy. A local pharmacy was involved in the distribution of large amounts of oxycodone and its activities were disrupting commerce in a local shopping area. With the aid of the task force and our own investigators, we were able to successfully curtail the nuisance. As with other task force initiatives, the DEA pays for our investigator’s vehicle, overtime and operating expenses. We also share in the proceeds from asset forfeitures.

JHIT Team

The most recent task force we have joined is the JHIT Team. The Maitland Police Department is a founding member of this task force. The JHIT is a consortium of local municipal law enforcement agencies in Orange and Osceola counties that investigate homicides. While Maitland has about one homicide every three years, the homicide rate in Central Florida remains at an alarming level. These homicides that occur outside of our city still have an effect on our quality of life as a part of the greater Central Florida community. The JHIT task force will allow a large number of trained investigators to be available to any municipality that has a homicide. The JHIT will also work to solve older open homicide cases.

We are always looking for innovative methods to expand our ability to deliver quality law enforcement services to our residents, while at the same time ensuring we are getting the maximum product for each dollar spent. The Maitland Police Department exists to protect our residents and to provide a high level of professional service. Our participation in these task force initiatives assists us in meeting this goal.

—Bill McEachnie

Deputy Chief of Police

Maitland Police Department