CLAY COUNTY – Crime is down in Clay County compared to years past. For the first time in a decade, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office is getting more applications than it has openings, which allows it to be more selective about who it hires. And the community’s perception of the agency is more favorable than in years.

So, after winning re-election two months ago with 79.4% of the vote, things should be on autopilot for Sheriff Michelle Cook.

Hardly. The Clay County Sheriff’s Office is just getting started.

She said her agency would focus on three primary categories in the next four years: growth and strengthening the bond between the community and her agency.

“As we continue to grow in Clay County, the law enforcement needs of the county grow, too,” Cook said. “We handled over 275,000 calls for service in 2024. As people keep moving in and people keep calling the police, we have to have the personnel to respond.

“Growth is one thing you’ll hear me talk about – recruiting, retention, the smart use of technology.

“The second priority is relationships. We have our Sheriff’s Net meetings a couple of times a month, Coffee with a Cop – all of those things because it’s important to let the community know what we’re doing and to continue to keep that trust that our community has with us, and I don’t take that for granted. It's like any relationship: you have to work on it, or the relationship goes sour. I take that very seriously.”

Of course, the sheriff’s office’s primary job is fighting crime. While the population increased by 6.2% during Cook’s first four years in office, violent crime decreased by 5.2% during that same timeframe.

“I’m happy to report that overall, our crime numbers are down from 2024,” Cook said. “But, as we continue to grow, we must be laser-focused on what crime trends we're seeing and what's happening, putting the resources together to address those concerns. My major initiatives for 2025 are recruiting and retention back at the top. We have positions to fill. We have over 900 members, and not because of the school district transition, but partially because we had to put our hiring on hold just a little bit to get all those folks [into the schools]. We need to fill the spots we have opened. You'll hear me talking about a lot about recruiting and retention.

“You'll see the body-worn camera program roll out this year, which I'm really excited about. We've been very deliberate about our approach for a couple of reasons. One, it's a big investment. Two, we had the infrastructure to address internally to ensure we were prepared. You know, the body-worn camera program is not just about putting a camera on a body. There are storage requirements, retention requirements, and public records requirements. There's, you know, maintenance of the cameras and all the equipment that goes with it. And it's an investment. We have to create a body-worn camera unit just to keep up with all of that. So that'll be three, four or five people. Then we had to have a space to put those people in. So, you know, but you'll see us rolling out our first 50 cameras here soon.”

Cook has pressed the Board of County Commission for a safety complex that would expand the current jail facility and eliminate 30 buildings her agency needs to work and store equipment. The current jail and sheriff’s office at 825 N. Orange Ave. in Green Cove Springs was built in 1972 and is outdated and cramped. Many inmates sleep on mattresses on the floor, and some are sent to neighboring counties – at a cost – when there isn’t enough space, even on cell floors or hallways.

Cook told county council members recently her agency is spread among 30 buildings around the county. She said first responders desperately need a 50-to-60-acre complex where the sheriff’s office, fire rescue, 911 department, emergency management and fleet maintenance would all work under one roof to improve services.

“The jail is falling apart around us,” she said. “I'm concerned that we don't pull the trigger on this sooner than later, there's not going to be any space left out there to put this together.”

Instead of enjoying her agency's successes during the last four years, Michelle Cook said the Clay County Sheriff’s Office wants so much more.