Who we are
BS degree, business management, University of South Florida; MBA, University of South Florida, 2011; FBI National Academy, Quantico, Va., Class 197.
Special agent, rising through the ranks to captain, Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, State of Florida, 1989-2001; undersheriff, Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, 2001-2010; appointed Sheriff of Hernando County, January 2011; elected Sheriff of Hernando County, 2012; re-elected 2016 (unopposed), re-elected 2020.
FBI National Academy Associates; Tampa Bay Chiefs of Police; board of directors: Florida Sheriff’s Association (Secretary); Dawn Center (previously served as President); Sheriff’s Ranches Enterprises (previously served as Chair); Youth and Family Alternatives; ARC (previously served as Treasurer); Hernando County Habitat for Humanity Advisory Board, PDMP Foundation; Greater Hernando County Chamber of Commerce (previously served on Board of Directors).
“Here at the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office, we have two simultaneous responsibilities as we interact with our community. The first is to maintain the safety of the county, which we take seriously. Just as important, however, is our second task of making our citizens feel safe. Unfortunately, we can see that, throughout the country, some law enforcement organizations, in their zeal to make their community safe, sometimes do not make their citizens feel safe. Elected sheriffs and their deputies, however, have become experts in balancing these two concerns. This is one of the reasons that the crime rate in Florida is the lowest it has been in over four decades and why sheriffs seldom have significant unrest in their communities.”
~ Sheriff Al Nienhuis
