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******************* Article by Karen Fleming
“It starts with our youth.” Sheriff Jim Coats believes in the mission of the Police Athletic League. That was apparent very soon after we began talking. “If there’s ever an opportunity to make a difference in our community, it starts with our youth,” he said. “There are many negative influences in our community that could so easily influence these kids. “If it were not for programs like PAL” he said, “too many of our young people could end up in the criminal justice system. We think it’s very, very important to focus on our youth and provide those youth with opportunities to be successful. In addition to the sports activities, we emphasize the tutoring, the mentoring, the leadership team building that PAL offers: all important things for our youth. We try to get them to do positive things with their lives.” That’s one of the things Jim Coats likes about being Sheriff: “the opportunity to make a difference in our community. That starts with our youth.” We spoke by phone in mid-August, and began by talking about some of the Sheriff’s achievements in the nearly seven years he has held this office. Sheriff Coats: One of my primary goals has been to expand the reach of the Sheriff’s Police Athletic League (PAL) to youngsters county-wide. As you know, this office started the PAL program in Pinellas County about ten years ago. Our objective was to eventually have multiple PAL sites county-wide. It’s still a work in progress, but we now have five locations in the county with a staff of twelve working in these PAL programs. We have 3000 enrolled youth members, and on any given day, we serve in excess of 200 boys and girls. When we first started out, we had zero dollars. We started from scratch, and built the operation up over the years. Even in these tough economic times, we’ve been able to survive. (PAL: This might be a good place to interject a comment from Jerry Babcock, the Pinellas County PAL Executive Director. He wrote that Sheriff Coats was very instrumental in the growth and expansion of the Pinellas County PAL, in spite of multi-million dollar agency budget cuts over the last four years. And speaking of how a PAL can survive budget cuts and tough economic times, the sheriff elaborated, as follows.) Sheriff Coats: Of course, part of our survival is the result of some federal grants and some local grants we’ve received. Further, our sheriff’s office is very active in fundraising for our local PAL program. And, like most organizations, we rely on community support and our community partners. Our main focus is PAL, but in addition to PAL, there are other youth organizations we’re very interested in, for example, the Boys and Girls Clubs, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and the PACE Center for Girls. We partner with them on occasion, share facilities, and occasionally host joint fundraisers. And of course, like every other sheriff’s office in the state, we support the fine work of the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches. PAL: You stated earlier that one of the things you like about being sheriff is the opportunity to make positive changes in your community. But what about dislikes? Sheriff Coats: I don’t like to refer to them as dislikes, but I could refer to them as challenges. I guess you might say these challenges have to do with our economy and the fiscal or budget constraints that we’re currently under. But we’re making do. We’ve reengineered, redesigned the way we do business and we’re still providing what I think is a high level service. I just signed off on our crime rates for the last six months, and overall, there’s a reduction in crime. So, we’re proud of that. And we’ve got a great team. It’s obviously not just me here in the office. I really have to give our members credit. And we partner with other agencies and other community providers—it’s a team effort county-wide. PAL: What’s an important thing for a sheriff to remember every day? Sheriff Coats: It’s just--remember where I’ve come from. I always try to be accessible and responsible to the citizens’ needs and concerns. I always tell people, I’m the sheriff for everybody, and it doesn’t matter if you’re a witness, or a victim, or a defendant, or an inmate, or an upstanding citizen, and regardless of your political affiliation or your religious beliefs and all that, I’m the sheriff for everybody. PAL: As sheriff, what is your connection with the Police Athletic League? Sheriff Coats: Our Police Athletic League falls under the umbrella of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, and we have a number of our agency members who are very involved in the operation of PAL and support the PAL. I, along with our Chief Deputy and some other folks are active members of the PAL Board of Directors. Our PAL program is under the excellent leadership of Jerry Babcock, who used to run a PAL program in the City of St. Petersburg. He retired from there, hired on here, and does a great job. PAL: What do you enjoy in your off hours? Sheriff Coats: We [my wife and I] have a boat, and when we get the opportunity, which is not very often, we spend time on it. PAL: Since I’ve been told of your upcoming retirement, I wonder if you’ve made any plans. Sheriff Coats: I will be retiring on November 7, 2011. I’d still like to stay involved in community service in some capacity that’s just not as time consuming as being sheriff. What that’s going to be, I don’t know yet. I’ve had all kinds of offers, but I’m not eager to jump at anything right now. I’ll kind of play it by ear. My wife has some health issues right now that we’re trying to overcome. I’ve certainly enjoyed my forty years in the business of law enforcement. I’ve always been proud to work with such fine individuals, not only in our agency, but in the community and in other law enforcement organizations. I’ve really, really enjoyed the opportunities that I’ve had and the partnerships I’ve been able to develop over the years. PAL: We thank Sheriff Coats for this gracious interview. And we offer many thanks for his dedication to the youth of Pinellas County. They have a true friend in this sheriff! All of us at PAL hope and pray for a full recovery for Mrs. Coats. We feel confident that the sheriff will be a great source of comfort and help for his wife.
More about Sheriff Jim Coats from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s website: Sheriff Jim Coats' law enforcement career has been with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office for 40 years and he served at all command levels until elected Sheriff in 2004 and re-elected in 2008. Before his election, Jim Coats was twice appointed by Governor Chiles to serve as Sheriff in counties where the Sheriff has been removed from office. He was appointed by Governor Bush to be interim Sheriff for Pinellas County, and also served as interim Chief of Police for Indian Rocks Beach. A United States Air Force veteran, Sheriff Coats is a graduate of the FBI National Academy; the FBI Executive Institute; the Florida Criminal Justice Executive Institute; the Secret Service Dignitary Protection School; and the National Aviation Academy. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice. Sheriff Coats was selected as a delegate to attend the International Terrorism Task Force in Israel. He was appointed by the Governor to serve on the Florida Parole Commission’s Qualification Committee, and the Florida Violent Crime and Drug Control Council. He was appointed by the Florida Attorney General to serve as Co-Chairperson on the Regional Statewide Gang Reduction Strategy Task Force. He also serves on the FDLE Regional Domestic Security Task Force; FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force; Executive Committee of the Central Florida HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) Task Force; Pinellas County Education Foundation Executive Committee; Circuit 6 Juvenile Justice Board; Pinellas County Public Safety Coordinating Council; Pinellas County Health and Human Services Council; Pinellas County Community Alliance for Children and Family Services; and has served on the Florida Bar Grievance Committee Sixth Judicial Circuit. For the past 17 years, Sheriff Coats has served on the Executive Board of Directors of the Boys and Girls Clubs and currently serves on the: Executive Board of Directors of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Pinellas County; Clothes to Kids; Pinellas County Police Athletic League (PAL); and Sheriff’s Citizens Academy Alumni Association. Sheriff Coats is a graduate of Leadership Pinellas and is a member of the American Legion.
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