A Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office Detective is reaching out to the community to provide useful law enforcement information. She hopes the community will reach out to her as well.

On Saturday, Aug. 28, Det. Erika Fore attended a youth education forum at Rocky Mt. Missionary Baptist Church in Crawfordville. The youth in attendance varied in age from 11 to 20 years old.

Fore spoke to the youth group about Internet safety, Stranger-Danger and gang violence and she also brought drug paraphernalia and answered questions about narcotics and the effects of drug use.

“The entire group seemed to be receptive to the message that I was presenting to them,” said Det. Fore, who added that her goal is to meet as many Wakulla County residents and organizations as possible.

After speaking to the church youth, Fore pulled the parents aside and spoke to them separately. “The parents had several questions and seemed to be very concerned about sexual offenders and predators in our community,” said Fore. “I reassured them that the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office is currently tracking 126 offenders with five of them being classified as sexual predators.”  Two of the five sexual predators are incarcerated.

Sexual predators are considered a higher level of offender than sexual offenders. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) has information about both sexual predators and sexual offenders on the FDLE web site. The web site can be located at: http://www.fdle.state.fl.us. Site visitors can access a list of offenders and predators by county. The site has a photograph of the offender/predator and a description of his or her charges.

“I explained the difference between an offender and a predator and also gave them information on how to track offenders in their neighborhood,” the detective said. The Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office web site has an offender search as well as a search of inmate names for individuals who are in the Wakulla County Jail.

Fore brought along flyers that provided the parents with information about common text acronyms and provided them with information on the warning signs of sexual abuse, drug use and gang involvement.

“Overall the event was a success and I look forward to future events that will allow me to educate the parents and youth of our community,” Det. Fore noted.

Det. Fore is also hoping individuals will contact her office and request programs that include children’s fingerprinting and the Stranger-Danger program for younger children. On Monday, Sept. 13, Florida will take part in Missing Children’s Day.

A ceremony will be held at the State Capitol in Tallahassee to honor law enforcement officers and civilians who have assisted in missing children cases and help raise awareness of prevention of child abduction and sexual exploitation.

Along the same theme, Det. Fore is willing to put on programs for church and faith-based organizations, neighborhood watch groups, 4-H or other organizations that would benefit from hearing her speak.

She can be reached by calling her office at (850) 745-7189.

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