Youngsters and illegal and dangerous legal drug use is my main safety concern. It breaks my heart when young people die from drug overdose. It seems that we must be able to get dealers and suppliers off the streets somehow in this whole Country. I imagine the police know who these people are in many cases but their hands are tied to control them and get them off the streets.

The crime that takes place in our public schools, especially those in Dunedin, many of which are covered up and not reported because the head honcho will look bad.

People getting jumped/mugged on the pinellas trail, day or night, open or closed, people having to be afraid for thier safety on the trail shouldn't be a concern.

People driving like lunatics; running red lights, speeding, tailgating, road rage, talking/texting on cellphones. It's getting ridiculous! Cops often seem to look the other way & ignore instead of writing tickets.

In many towns they reinstitued the "Community Officer", essentially an officer walking a beat. The end result was a significant decrease in crime in the areas in which the officer's beat covered and increased public appreciation of the police department. I see this as a win win

Thanks for sharing your concerns, everyone! It's helping to fashion our next Patch Podium question for the sheriff's candidates! I hope you will tune into the debate on July 17. We'll have live video coverage here on Patch. Stay tuned for details!

Recent news about the pending open carry bill in Florida has some voters concerned about a potential "wild west" setting for "cowboys" openly wearing guns in public while others feel that many states with open carry laws haven't seen any serious problems yet and that it's the Constitutional right for gun properly licensed owners to carry their guns openly. The voters will decide!

high speed police chases