In honor of Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, #TeamSJSO is highlighting dispatchers in the newest episode of SJSO Unlocked. Communications Manager Heather Myers and Public Safety Telecommunicators Maddie Romer and Anthony Trout join Public Information Officer Taylor Levesque in the studio.

Public Safety Telecommunicators, also known as 911 dispatchers, answer both emergency and non-emergency calls for law enforcement countywide. They are the first point of contact when you call for help - providing guidance and support during times of need while communicating with law enforcement and first responders in the field.

"𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘰𝘴. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦, 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳."

Their discussion focuses on the vital role communicators have in providing emergency services across St. Johns County. Every call is unique and second's matter. In this episode, listeners will learn how PSTs handle a variety of calls and emergencies, use technology to assist responding units, the importance of information gathering, and how you can join the team.

#TeamSJSO hopes you enjoy this episode of SJSO Unlocked, available on Spotify, Pandora, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and YouTube.

Click to listen: https://rss.com/podcasts/sjsounlockedpodcast/

Click to watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/OlJjrpW6p-k?si=PVt8JbwGTbAPWuOX

Do you have a question for Sheriff Hardwick, SJSO personnel, or a topic you'd like us to discuss? Send us an email at unlockedpodcast@sjso.org. Thank you for your support.

Join the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office in recognizing our Public Safety Telecommunicators.

Episode 7 of SJSO Unlocked is now live featuring St. Johns County Fight Night participants: Coach Cedric Mincey, Deputy Laura Cajas, and Firefighter Josh Martin (SAFD).

This episode is all about the event, how they are preparing, what spectators can look forward to, takeaways from last year's event, the friendly competition between fighters, and much more.

Come out to support your local SJSO Deputies, St. Johns County Fire Rescue, and St. Augustine Fire Department Firefighters as they go glove-to-glove for charity.

🗓️February 26, 2026

📍The St. Augustine Amphitheatre

📌Doors open at 5 p.m.; the event starts at 6 p.m.

All event proceeds will benefit the children in our community of all abilities. Two special charities, Diamond of Dreams and Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Florida will receive assistance from Fight Night!

The Diamond of Dreams is a new build project providing a ball field and a playground for children with special needs.

Special Olympics Florida focuses on our local athletes with intellectual disabilities participating in various sports. While supporting your local heroes, you can contribute to a much larger cause.

Fighters have been training for months, in preparation for the big event. There will be 15 bouts, including three bouts featuring fighters from St. Johns, Duval, and Flagler Police Athletic Leagues.

Grab your tickets now: https://www.theamp.com/events/detail/st-johns-county-fight-night-2026

#TeamSJSO hopes you enjoy this episode of SJSO Unlocked, available on Spotify, Pandora, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and YouTube.

Do you have a question for Sheriff Hardwick, SJSO personnel, or a topic you'd like us to discuss? Send us an email at unlockedpodcast@sjso.org. Thank you for your support.

BACK TO SCHOOL! We're kicking off the new school year with a new episode of SJSO Unlocked.

Youth Resource Deputies Paul Beasley, Pedro Ramos, and Daniel Barnhart join Public Information Officer Taylor Levesque in the studio.

On this episode, our YRDs share their excitement for the new school year, how they protect and mentor students, keep school campuses safe, AND have fun by participating in school spirit days and sporting events. We also talk about their summer - teaching the Teen Driver Challenge program and the introduction of a new e-bike safety training for all middle school students in St. Johns County.

This episode is a perfect way to stay informed on everything that will help make this school year safe and successful.

#TeamSJSO hopes you enjoy this episode of SJSO Unlocked, available on Spotify, Pandora, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and YouTube.

Do you have a question for Sheriff Hardwick, SJSO personnel, or a topic you'd like us to discuss? Send us an email at unlockedpodcast@sjso.org. Thank you for your support.

Members of the SJSO Aviation Unit join Public Information Officer Taylor Levesque on Episode 5 of SJSO Unlocked!

The primary mission of the SJSO Aviation Unit is to provide support to patrol, investigations, and special teams on the ground responding to calls for service. The Aviation Unit protects the St. Johns County community from above and has an important role in helping save lives.

The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office Aviation Unit was formed in 1997, and has grown to have five pilots, three tactical flight officers (TFO), two full-time aircraft maintainers, and one part-time aircraft maintainer. They operate two Bell 407 aircrafts.

In this episode, Pilot Casey Kumar reflects on assisting with the safe landing of an aircraft in distress over Green Cove Springs in February 2025. TFO Gavin Higgins tells us about a March 3, 2025 pursuit of a South Florida kidnapping suspect through St. Johns and Putnam counties and how the Aviation Unit discovered the suspect hiding in the back of a carry-by semi truck. You'll also learn about the responsibilities of the pilot and TFO, partnerships with local, state, and federal law enforcement partners, training, etc.

#TeamSJSO hopes you enjoy this episode of SJSO Unlocked, available on Spotify, Pandora, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and YouTube.

Click this link to listen: https://rss.com/podcasts/sjsounlockedpodcast/

Do you have a question for Sheriff Hardwick, SJSO personnel, or a topic you'd like us to discuss? Send us an email at unlockedpodcast@sjso.org. Thank you for your support.

"If it's too good to be true, it probably is."

On Episode 4 of SJSO Unlocked, Economic Crimes Unit Detectives Bobby Fultz and David Elliott join Public Information Officer Taylor Levesque for a discussion about scams.

Detectives Fultz and Elliott say scams are becoming more popular, and with the access of technology, more creative. In this episode, we talk about economic scams, inmate scams, bail bond scams, job scams, real estate scams, investment scams, computer pop up scams, and the latest trends to look out for.

The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office will never call and ask you for money, never ask you to provide personal identifying information over the phone, or reach out to you about an inmate. If you have doubts about who you are speaking to, call the SJSO non-emergency line (904) 824-8304 and verify before giving away personal information.

If you believe you or someone you know is a victim of a scam, please call SJSO.

We hope you enjoy this episode of SJSO Unlocked, available on Spotify, Pandora, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and YouTube.

Do you have a question for Sheriff Hardwick, SJSO personnel, or a topic you'd like us to discuss? Send us an email at unlockedpodcast@sjso.org. Thank you for your support. #teamsjso

On Episode 3 of SJSO Unlocked, Corporal Robert Hill, Deputy Nathan Lebon, and Deputy Stephanie Stuart join Public Affairs Officer Taylor Levesque for a discussion about all things K9.

The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office K9 Unit includes 14 K9 teams certified in narcotics detection, explosive odors, firearms, etc., assigned to patrol, SWAT, corrections, and the schools. In the last year, the K9 Unit has had 1,200+ deployments and 5,000+ hours of training.

In this episode, you'll learn more about our SJSO personnel and their K9 partners, recent deployments they aided in, including recent threats made to schools and businesses, missing persons searches, and violent offenders on the run.

You'll also learn more about how they train and partnerships with surrounding agencies and organizations. The SJSO K9 Unit is a big family who supports one another. But, this episode is not all about business, their friendly banter will also make you laugh.

We hope you enjoy this episode of SJSO Unlocked, available on Spotify, Pandora, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and YouTube.

Do you have a question for Sheriff Hardwick, SJSO personnel, or a topic you'd like us to discuss? Send us an email at unlockedpodcast@sjso.org. Thank you for your support. #teamsjso

On Episode 2 of SJSO Unlocked, Madison Schemitz joins Sheriff Hardwick and Lieutenant George Harrigan for a discussion on bravery and resilience. On June 3, 2023, Madison was stabbed 17 times by her ex-boyfriend at a Ponte Vedra Beach restaurant. Her mother and a bystander were also injured. The attack left Madison paralyzed, facing a life changing journey ahead. After the attack, she spent weeks in the hospital, followed by hours of physical and occupational therapy to regain her strength. Despite all odds, she walked across the stage at her high school graduation and has gotten back on the field hitting softballs again. In this episode, Madison talks about her family and friends, how their support has kept her positive, and a quote she lives by 'If you're going through hell, keep going.' Tune into this episode of SJSO Unlocked: A St. Johns County Sheriff's Office podcast.

Do you have a question for Sheriff Hardwick, SJSO personnel, or a topic you'd like us to discuss? Send us an email at unlockedpodcast@sjso.org. Thank you for your support. #teamsjso

SJSO Unlocked officially launched in December 2024. In Episode 1, Public Affairs Officer and Host Taylor Levesque sits down with Sheriff Hardwick, Kendell Hardwick, and SJSO General Services Director Tara Wildes for the first episode of SJSO Unlocked. The purpose of our podcast is to showcase the amazing and hardworking men and women at the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office. This episode dives into Sheriff Hardwick's next term as your Sheriff, his accomplishments during his first term, and goals he plans to continue to accomplish. We're talking about SJSOs new tactical BRINC Lemur 2 Drone, and how technology is used in everyday policing and saving lives. Learn more about Kendell's new project 'Diamond of Dreams' and SJSOs upcoming event, St. Johns County Fight Night on February 13, 2025. Do you have a question for Sheriff Hardwick, SJSO personnel, or a topic you'd like us to discuss? Send us an email at unlockedpodcast@sjso.org. Thank you for your support. #teamsjso