TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – On Friday, the Leon County Sheriff\u2019s Office announced a new task force designed to reduce crime where many people gather to enjoy the outdoors. <\/p>\n
Nearly one-third of Leon County is in the national forest. LCSO says crime happens in the forest just like it does in the city, which is why they are creating a multi-agency task force to fight crime impacting the area and surrounding communities. <\/p>\n
\u201cToday marks an important step forward in how we protect not only our public lands but how we protect our citizens who live in and around public lands,\u201d Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil said at the Friday press conference. <\/p>\n
The Forest Preservation Task Force is a partnership between the Leon County Sheriff\u2019s Office, the Leon County Commission, the U.S. Forest Service and FWC. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are aligning with our state and federal partners in a coordinated effort to arrest all persons involved in criminal activity in our forest,\u201d McNeil said. <\/p>\n
Crime in our area:<\/p>\n
Officials say the task force was created to address growing illegal activity on forest lands and in neighborhoods along Highway 20. The sheriff says common crimes include drug trafficking and people involved in labor and human trafficking. <\/p>\n
\u201cThese are not what you might say isolated issues. They require a unified response if we\u2019re going to make a dent in this activity,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
The sheriff\u2019s office says that more than a year ago, they committed Deputy Tim Roche<\/a> to be their forestry deputy through a grant with the U.S. Forest Service after receiving over 1,000 calls for service in western Leon forest areas in 2024. <\/p>\n But now, they want to do more, and that\u2019s where the task force comes in.<\/p>\n \u201cThe data that comes back from the work that we all do out there will now be able to be collected and see where we need to focus those efforts as we do that and those resources,\u201d LCSO\u2019S Chief of Special Operations Lee Majors said.<\/p>\n The sheriff says they will work together with the other law enforcement organizations to arrest anyone involved in criminal activity. <\/p>\n \u201cAny of those persons who live in those areas, be assured we\u2019re going to be there to help you, and secondly, want to send a message to the violators that we will, in fact, come after you and arrest you if you are committing crimes in our forest,\u201d McNeil said.<\/p>\n In terms of measuring success, Sheriff McNeil says they\u2019ll compare crime numbers from before and after the task force and use that data to decide if more or fewer resources are needed going forward. <\/p>\n To keep up with the latest news as it develops, follow WCTV on Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, Nextdoor<\/a> <\/a>and X<\/a> (Twitter<\/a>).<\/p>\n Have a news tip or see an error? Write to us here<\/a>. Please include the article\u2019s headline in your message.<\/p>\n Be the first to see all the biggest headlines by downloading the WCTV News app. Click here<\/a> to get started.<\/p>\n Copyright 2026 WCTV. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n