How to Fight Fraud and Stop Scammers

With advances in technology and the rise of artificial intelligence, financial scams are becoming highly sophisticated, and the scammers are becoming much more convincing. It’s now easier than ever for tricksters to take your money.

Sheriff Kevin Rambosk and the Collier County Sheriff’s Office are here to help. In this episode members of CCSO’s Financial Crimes Bureau who tell us how to protect yourself and your hard-earned dollars. Sergeant Heather Nichols and Detective Leah Ford explain the latest scams and tell you how to avoid them.

LISTEN HERE - Scammers

Arrive Alive: Protecting the Roadways with CCSO

As the roadways of Collier County get more congested, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office is working harder than ever to keep the streets safe. In this episode, we’ll show you what CCSO is doing to protect drivers and pedestrians. Our deputies are on the street looking for dangerous behavior – that includes running red lights, aggressive driving, distracted driving, and failing to stop for school buses. We’ll also take a look at the consequences and tragic results of these infractions. 

LISTEN HERE  - Traffic Safety

Report, Don’t Repost: Stopping School Threats

Since the tragic school shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia, law enforcement agencies around the country are responding to online school threats almost daily. When it comes to keeping our schools safe, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office takes every precaution and investigates every single threat. Since 2018, CCSO has partnered with Collier County Public Schools to form our Threat Management Team, an innovative, multi-faceted approach to school safety. In this episode, we’ll hear from Sheriff Kevin Rambosk and Collier Schools superintendent Dr. Leslie Ricciardelli about how they are raising awareness in order to put an end to online threats. We’ll also talk to two members of our Threat Management Team who are on the frontlines every day keeping students safe.

LISTEN HERE - Stopping School Threats

Dusk to Dawn - The Nightshift with CCSO

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office is on the street protecting our community 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. But what do our deputies deal with in the dark of night, when most people are asleep? What kinds of calls and crimes occur before sunrise? And who are the deputies who work from dusk to dawn? In this episode, listen as we ride along with patrol for an entire 12-hour nightshift and learn what goes on overnight in Collier County.

LISTEN HERE - Night Shift

Underwater Experts: CCSO's Dive Team

They are the underwater experts. They are the specialists we turn to when it comes to retrieving anything from the murky, mucky, often dangerous water ways of Collier County. And with 307 square miles water, CCSO’s Dive Team plays a vital role in protecting our community. On this episode dive team members share stories of rescues, recoveries and alligator encounters. Lots and lots of alligator encounters.

LISTEN HERE - Dive Team

Survive the Storm: Getting ready for hurricane season

 Hurricane season is just a few days away, and we want you to be ready. In this episode we tell you what you can do to prepare and ways to stay safe during a storm. We also tell you how the Collier County Sheriff’s Office gets ready for hurricane season, and what our deputies do before, during, and after a storm. This week’s guests are Lt. Laura Lopez of our Emergency Management Division, and Lt. Stephen Macera, from our Real-Time Operations Center.

LISTEN HERE - Hurricane

Safety From The Sky: Inside the CCSO Aviation Unit

 When people see a law enforcement helicopter overhead, they often assume there’s a crime in progress, but that’s not always the case. The CCSO Aviation Unit performs a diverse variety of tasks to protect Collier County. In this episode, Lieutenant Dennis De Rienzo and Chief Pilot Ed Henderson explain how they do much more than locate bad guys – they battle fires, they find and save people, and they support and protect deputies on the ground. They also tell us how the speed and reach of our helicopters are essential to patrolling a county that is bigger than two U.S. states.

LISTEN HERE - Aviation

Community Emergency Response Teams: The Help Before Help Arrives

 In a large-scale emergency, like a hurricane or wildfire, first responders need all the help they can get. That’s why Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk is introducing the Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT. In this episode we look at how these citizen volunteers will be trained to protect themselves and their communities in the event of a disaster, and how that benefits everyone in Collier County.

LISTEN HERE - CERT

Explorers: Training & Teaching Tomorrow's Leaders

For the past 45 years, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office has given students an inside look at law enforcement through its Explorers program. This program gives hands-on training with CCSO deputies and offers valuable lessons, even for students who aren’t interested in a career in law enforcement. In this episode, we talk to two deputies who run the program, and two students who currently are Explorers explain how the program prepares them for life after graduation.

LISTEN HERE - Explorers

Finding the Next “First” First-Responders

A nationwide shortage of 9-1-1 dispatchers could mean longer wait times in an emergency. To solve this problem in Collier County, Sheriff Kevin Rambosk is thinking outside the box. In this episode, we’ll explore the creative ways Sheriff Rambosk is working to find the next generation of 9-1-1 telecommunicators through CCSO’s Public Safety Career Academy.

LISTEN HERE - First-Responders

“Why’d You Ticket Me?”: The Facts on Traffic Enforcement

Why do people get pulled over? Why do speeding tickets cost so much? Why is safety on the roadways so important? Do cops have monthly ticket quotas? In this episode, Sergeant Anna Horowitz and Corporal Scott Harle from the Collier County Sheriff’s Office Safety & Traffic Enforcement Bureau answer everything you’ve ever wanted to know about traffic enforcement.

LISTEN HERE - Facts on Traffic Enforcement

Victim Advocates: Helping those who have been harmed

What happens to victims once a crime is over? They can be scared and confused. That’s where CCSO’s Victim Advocates step in. In this episode CCSO Victim Advocates Angela Larson and Jackie Borchers tell us how they help people get through trauma by supporting them and connecting them to the resources they need. Our advocates also share how difficult their job can be, especially when it comes to delivering death notices.

LISTEN HERE - Victim Advocates

Inside the K9 Unit: How CCSO’s dogs protect Collier

This season we’re exploring the lesser-known aspects of the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, starting with our K9 Unit. Our deputies – both the dogs and their human handlers – do more than catch bad guys. They find missing people, they sniff out dangerous items, and they’re the first ones to enter the most volatile scenes. In this episode our Cpl. Diaz and Cpl. Walker explain the unique challenges and the joys of living and working with their K9 partners.

LISTEN HERE - K9 Unit

Reflecting on 100: How CCSO celebrated its past & future in 2023

 The Collier County Sheriff’s Office turned 100 this year. Sheriff Kevin Rambosk spent 2023 honoring our past, but also looking ahead with innovative public safety initiatives. In this episode, we look back on CCSO’s Centennial year and all that the agency has accomplished in the past 12 months.

NOTE: This is the final episode of our fall season. Sworn Statement will return after the new year with all new episodes for our spring season. Subscribe wherever you get podcasts to get notified when we return.

LISTEN HERE - CCSO Past and Future

Don't Get Scammed This Holiday

The holiday season means more people shopping, spending more money than usual. That means more opportunities for criminals to come after your hard-earned cash. In this episode, we talk to Collier County Sheriff’s Office crime prevention deputies about the holiday-themed scams and frauds they’ve seen, and how you can protect your pocketbook when you shop.

LISTEN HERE - Holiday Scams

Keep Your Cash Safe: Avoiding Financial Crimes

It’s International Fraud Awareness Week, but the Collier County Sheriff’s Office works year-round to stop scammers. In this episode members of CCSO’s Financial Crimes Bureau break down three of the most common scams, tell you the techniques criminals use to defraud victims, plus how to avoid them.

LISTEN HERE - Avoiding Financial Crimes

Searching for Margaret: Inside CCSO's rescue operation

Margaret Gallaway, 80, spent six days trapped inside a garage with no food and little water. Thanks to the efforts of the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, with help from other agencies and the public, Margaret is alive and well. This episode takes you inside the search and rescue mission. Detectives describe the exhaustive efforts to find Margaret, while her family tells us about the relief and joy it brought them.

LISTEN HERE - CCSO's Rescue Operation

Intercepting Child Predators

A brand new task force is targeting criminals who prey on the most vulnerable. The Collier County Sheriff’s Office is part of the Southwest Florida Intercept Task Force, which is fighting child exploitation and trafficking. In this episode we explain how the task force is saving children and provide tips on how to protect your kids from online predators.

LISTEN HERE - Child Predators

Laced & Lethal: Fighting Back Against Fentanyl

With drug overdoses at an all-time high, Sheriff Kevin Rambosk has created an extensive and innovative plan to fight it in Collier County. This episode explores how the Laced & Lethal campaign brings awareness and prevention to all areas of the community with the most thorough fentanyl-fighting program in the country.

LISTEN HERE - Laced & Lethal

Lasting Legacy: Sheriff Rogers & His Commitment to Kids

When Collier County opened its first new public high school in 19 years, the school district needed a name that signified service to students. The new school would be named for one of the seven men who have served as Sheriff of Collier County, and someone who dedicated his life to helping local children. In this episode we look at the namesake of Aubrey Rogers High School and explore the programs Sheriff Rogers created that are still protecting and serving the youth of today.

LISTEN HERE - Sheriff Rogers

Protect Yourself: Preventing Crimes Before They Happen

How can you avoid being a victim? In our season finale, we look at how the Collier County Sheriff's Office works to prevent crimes before they happen. We also give valuable tips to help you avoid some of the most common crimes of opportunity.

LISTEN HERE — CCSO Crime Prevention

Service to Others: How CSDs helps CCSO accomplish its mission

CSD stands for Community Service Deputies. They’re the Swiss Army knives of the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, doing a little bit of everything to keep citizens safe. In this episode we dive deep into the role of CSD: what they do, how they’re different from (and the same as) law enforcement officers, and how it’s a job that is rewarding for people of all backgrounds and experience.

LISTEN HERE — Community Service Deputies

Keeping up with Collier: Protecting an ever-expanding county

Collier County is always expanding. In the past 50 years alone our population has increased ten-fold. The Collier County Sheriff’s Office has worked hard to keep pace with that growth. In this episode, find out how CCSO has evolved to serve our ever-changing community, and how the Sheriff’s Office plans to keep pace in the future as Collier County’s growth shows no signs of slowing down.

LISTEN HERE — Keeping up with Collier 

Protecting Our Kids: How CCSO keeps school safe

As threats against schools rise on social media, how does law enforcement tell the difference between a hoax and a credible threat? How does CCSO weed out the fake threats and keep students safe from the real ones? In this episode we explore how the Collier County Sheriff's Office's unique relationship with the schools keeps kids safe, and we look at a real-life example of how a threat is assessed and investigated.

LISTEN HERE — School Safety

Career Corner: An Insider's Look at the Jail

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office Corrections Department is an essential part in helping us achieve the mission set forth by Sheriff Kevin Rambosk of protecting all citizens – even those who are incarcerated. In this episode we talk to Lieutenant Craig DeMange who dispels some of the myths about Corrections and tells us why it’s been a worthy and fulfilling career for him for the past 17 years.

LISTEN HERE — All About Corrections

Remembering Sheriff Roy O. Atkins

Only seven men have served as Sheriff of Collier County. Today we're looking back the Sheriff who had the shortest tenure, but had an indelible impact on the county in its early days. Hear how Sheriff Roy O. Atkins maintained law and order from 1953 to 1956 from someone who knew him best.

LISTEN HERE — Remembering Sheriff Roy O. Atkins

 CCSO's Autism Support Project

Autism is the fastest growing developmental disability in the world, and Sheriff Kevin Rambosk wanted to know how to better serve that segment of our community. In 2021, Sheriff Rambosk created CCSO's Autism Support Project. In this episode we examine how our innovative and proactive approach is protecting vulnerable citizens by training first responders to provide specialized care.

LISTEN HERE — CCSO's Autism Support Project

Touch DNA and the Property Crimes Initiative

Sheriff Kevin Rambosk and CCSO are strengthening efforts to find and process invisible evidence – and it’s leading to more arrests in the crimes that affect citizens the most. In this episode we look at how CCSO is using Touch DNA to solve these cases through our Property Crimes Initiative.

LISTEN HERE — Touch DNA and the Property Crimes Initiative

A Centennial of Safety

Sworn Statement is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Collier County Sheriff's Office. In the first episode back we're examining how CCSO has developed into a first-class law enforcement agency over the past century .

LISTEN HERE — The Growth of CCSO

Mental Health in Collier County - Season 2

Season Two of Sworn Statement is divided into three episodes an it is available for download now. The second season explores everything our agency is doing to help folks with mental illness. Listen to the trailer here.

 Season 2 Episode 1 — Florida Man Gets Help

 Season 2 Episode 2 — Breaking the Cycle

 Season 2 Episode 3 —The Safety Net