Land O' Lakes Detention Center Chief Correctional Officer Named

PASCO COUNTY, FL — A 31-year veteran of law enforcement was unanimously approved by the Pasco County Commission to serve as chief correctional officer for the Pasco County Detention Center.

Maj. Stacey Jenkins will lead the detention center operations as it transitions over from the responsibility of the Pasco County Sheriff's Office to the Pasco County Government.

The Pasco County Commission agreed to take over the operations of the detention center in March after Sheriff Chris Nocco told commissioners that his department is spread too thin.

While the budget for the sheriff's office, detention center and court security has remained the same, the cost of medical and food services to house inmates has increased.

“Decisions such as this are never easy," he said. "Increases in contracts, including medical and food services, are a reality every year for the county detention facility, having a direct budgetary impact on the operations of the sheriff’s office, impacting our ability to address the continued growth in our county."

He said the sheriff's office has no reserve funding to fund these increases while the county commission has additional financial options to handle rising costs.

He said it's especially crucial for the jail to have the funding and resources it needs as it prepares to undergo a long-awaited expansion.

See related story: Pasco Sheriff's Service Level Ranked 64 Out of 67 Florida Counties

The commission has hired Moss & Associates LLC as the construction manager for the 386,477-square-foot expansion of the jail at 20101 Central Blvd., Land O' Lakes.

Construction is expected to begin soon and be completed in the summer of 2025 at a cost of $208 million. The expansion will allow the county to house an additional 540 inmates.

In June, the county commission voted formally to take over the jail's operation as of Oct. 1, and tentatively appointed Jenkins chief correctional officer. Last week, the commission made the appointment permanent.

Interim County Administrator Mike Carballa said he's been working with Jenkins throughout the transition and feels she's the person to lead the detention center.

"I can tell you, through this jail transition, it's been a lot of hard work but Stacey, in particular, has been a phenomenal partner in helping us move through this," he said. "She is just an incredibly experienced person that I think will do a fantastic job in the role of chief correctional officer here."

Jenkins began her career with the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office in April 1991 as a detention deputy at the Land O’ Lakes facility. She was appointed corporal in December 1994 and assigned as a training specialist to assist with training members throughout the agency in subjects such as defensive tactics.

In 1995, she obtained her law enforcement certification and became a dual-certified deputy. That same year, she was promoted to sergeant and returned to the detention bureau, now known as the court services bureau, as the administrative sergeant.

In this position, she was responsible for overseeing the Detention Field Training Officer Program and newly hired trainees attending the corrections academy. She also supervised the inmate programs section, front desk, mail room and inmate visitation.

In May 2000, she continued her jack-of-all-trades assignment after being promoted to lieutenant. As the support services lieutenant, Jenkins supervised the operations division (inmate housing) and the administrative division over the culinary unit, commissary, programs, the front desk, lobby, mailroom, loading dock, laundry and requisitions.

She also supervised the court processing section, which consisted of fugitive warrants and civil processes.

An adjunct instructor for law enforcement and corrections academies since 1994, she teaches general topics but her passion is teaching new recruits in defensive tactics.

In August 2016, Jenkins received her master's degree in criminal justice with a concentration in legal students from Saint Leo University.

Her salary as chief correctional officer is $150,000 a year.

County commission chairwoman Kathryn Starkey initially had reservations about completing the transition by Oct. 1 but said the work Jenkins has already accomplished has helped alleviate her concerns.

"We're really glad you stayed with us and we're really looking forward to your leadership," she told Jenkins.