Commending Benton

We would like to commend Sheriff Susan Benton for her professionalism, integrity and personal dedication in her leadership of the Highlands County Sheriff's Office. She has been deeply involved with all aspects of public safety and community improvements.

Not long ago, the Highlands County Sheriff's Office received its national accreditation status. National recognition by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement is one of the greatest steps toward professionalism that a law enforcement agency can take.

For those who are not aware of this procedure, it requires the agency to re-write all its policies and procedures to comply with national standards (these changes allow the department to better give the citizens of Highlands County the service they have received all along.) Accomplishing this takes many months and months of hard work. Once the work is done, a team of assessors from across the country come to inspect the department and evaluate the finished product. When all guidelines are met, the department is issued an accreditation certificate. Accreditation does not stop with the issuance of a certificate, a yearly progress report must be filed by the department and assessors visit the department every five years to make sure standards are being maintained for re-accreditation.

We feel Sheriff Benton has proven herself as a capable leader, so much so that she has been elected to the office of chairman of the board of directors of the Florida Sheriff's Association. We urge you to heartily endorse her for re-election as sheriff of Highlands County.

Gary and Nancy Merriman
Lake Placid