HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. – In conjunction with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), Tampa Police Department (TPD), and the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC), the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office arrested three convicted felons and issued 42 warrants during a three-day operation focused on the compliance of violent career criminals.
From June 14-16, 2021, HCSO’s Warrant Section, along with deputies from all five of the agency’s districts and partnering agencies, visited the residences of 280 Career Offenders.
A Career Offender is an individual who, because of their violent criminal history, is designated by a judge to register their address in the Career Offender Application for Statewide Tracking (COAST), a state registry maintained by the FDLE. These individuals are considered the “worst-of-the-worst” criminals, according to the FDLE.
The 280 individuals were flagged after they failed to confirm their addresses, a requirement under the Florida Career Offender Registration Act. Failure of a Career Offender to register their residence within 48 hours of moving is a third-degree felony.
During the operation, 42 individuals were not living at the residences they listed, therefore not in compliance, so felony warrants were issued. Additionally, three Career Offenders were located and arrested for active warrants related to previous charges.
“The accuracy of this list is vital for law enforcement and members of our community, who have a right to know where these violent individuals are living,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister. “I am proud of the hard work our deputies and detectives put in during this operation.”
Compliance checks are completed every year by law enforcement to ensure information found in the database is accurate. In the event an offender engages in criminal activity again, law enforcement will use the registry to quickly locate the individual.
There are approximately 440 registered Career Offenders in Hillsborough County, according to Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
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