WARNING: Strong crackdowns are here!
All, a couple of weeks ago we warned that strong crackdowns were taking place across Florida (https://floridaactioncommittee.org/fac-weekly-update-2026-06-23-compliance-checks-and-registration-enforcement-across-florida/)
Today, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office announced the results of “Operation Silver Spur”, in which 126 registrants were arrested for technical violations such as vehicle reporting, internet identifiers, etc. For context, there are 667 registrants in Osceola County. That means 19% of the registrant population in the county was arrested – that’s nearly 1 in 5! (see: https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/operation-silver-spur-sex-offenders-back-behind-bars)
In Taylor County (who even knew there was a “Taylor County” in Florida) of the 78 registrants, 5 were arrested (6.4%) in another announcement today (https://fox49.tv/news/local/fdle-taylor-county-sheriff-arrest-five-in-3-day-sex-offender-compliance-sweep) and last week in Alachua, operation “Get ‘Em Gator”, got 25 (https://cbs12.com/news/local/operation-get-em-gator-nets-25-arrests-for-sex-offender-registry-violations-in-florida-fdles-missing-persons-and-offender-enforcement-division-jacksonville-regional-operations-center-gainesville-field-office-partnered-alachua-county-sheriffs-office).
We know some of these arrests, if not most, are for petty things, like an account you didn’t know you had to register or one that’s been dormant forever and you forgot about. Barely any are for new crimes (outside of registration violations). Just know this is taking place and make sure your family has the contact information to a defense attorney handy. There definitely appears to be a state-wide initiative to lock up as many registrants as possible, so please be vigilant!
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Is there a list of lawyers that will work for us and not take advantage of us?
There is an attorney referral page right here on the site.
It is a very short list, we are screwed. This is getting old. Following the laws to the best of our abilities is not enough.
How many are you looking for?
Just look up attorneys in your area. I hired a wonderful woman a few years back for my FTR, she got me time served, no probation or jail time.
This is to the group and very serious question, to me. I do not understand, do those internet identifiers include Allrecipe, Archaeological Institute, Biblical Archaeology, Find a
Grave, Florida Pennsula Insurance, Irish Family Genealogy, etc.??? How fare and are these people going?
None of those strike me as registrable internet identifiers. Why would they be?
The links to Florida attorneys don’t work.
Which ones?
It is sad to say but the only way to totally feel safe is to Not use the computer, take the bus, don’t work, don’t have email and don’t have a cell phone. That way you have an address and that is it.
Tearful
That is why some registrants live in the woods and mostly get left alone, unless someone complains and they have to move somewhere else.
Living in the woods would not necessarily protect you from a crackdown of this nature.
I don’t understand how an email address or internet identifier from the past – that is not in current use – can be used as evidence to support an arrest for failing to register given Judge Hinkle’s Order.
Agreed – it’s helpful in preventing a conviction, but not necessarily an arrest.
Judge Hinkle’s Order?
PLEASE EXPLAIN
Here is some background:
https://floridaactioncommittee.org/registering-internet-identifiers/
Thank You!
I would agree. if you reported it in the past, Closed it, no longer use and removed like FDLE tells you to do then its moot …… or it should be.
The purpose of making these laws is to send all Registered Persons back to prison. That is why they make these laws so hard to follow on purpose.
The City of Tallahassee Police Chief and the Leon County Sheriff have been doing a more dignified and respectful approach for those both on the Sex Offense Registry and the Career Offense/Repeat Offense Registry. They have trained their officers and deputies in that approach and regards and not use mass crackdowns and that is mostly due to Encouragement coming from the Big Bend Re-Entry Coalition.
Do we even know what—or who—is driving this frivolous misuse of taxpayer dollars? At some point, you have to ask why our collective numbers aren’t enough to confront the obvious bias baked into the enforcement of petty administrative missteps. These actions do nothing to reduce crime. If anything, they expose a troubling breakdown in the relationship between enforcement authorities and the very people they are tasked with supervising.
And that raises a fair question: during these semiannual inspections, do enforcement staff bear any responsibility to help individuals navigate the maze of convoluted administrative requirements? Or has the system simply abandoned any pretense of guidance, choosing instead to punish technical errors that serve no public-safety purpose?
Bo, Florida’s Attorney General pushes stings and compliance issues routinely. A basic Google search will reveal the press conferences and other opportunities the AG takes to make political statements about these issues. Just take a look at his website. That should tell you everything you need to know.
https://www.myfloridalegal.com/human-trafficking