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Chief Rick Francis’ first career was with the Navy, where he served as an advanced emergency medical technician and combat medic before entering the Army Reserves as a flight medic. After his time there, he spent several years in corporate America, last serving as the Vice President of Operations for a Fortune 100 finance company, but he soon realized that his calling was to serve the people.
Chief Francis started with the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office in November 2007. Chief Francis oversees the Department of School Safety and is responsible for direct oversight of the increasing demands and evolving needs of all aspects of our school safety and security, which comprises seventy (70) public/charter schools with approximately 68,000 students and 10,000 staff members and one-hundred twenty school resource officers, deputies, and supervisors. He is also responsible for school resource deputies at several private schools and the local State College.
Chief Francis has proven to be a national leader and subject matter expert in school safety, having developed our unique initial school safety model and providing guidance and leadership to other districts around the state and nation. He has studied prior school shootings and averted school shooting incidents. In addition, Chief Francis examined the lessons learned from the incident and the best practices to apply them to his efforts in Seminole County. He masterly views and addresses school safety from various lenses, including his past and current experiences in the military, medic, executive management, tactical, law enforcement, emergency management, educator, and K-12 school administration. He is exceptionally passionate about protecting our most vulnerable.
Chief Francis has served in various roles at the Sheriff’s Office, including patrol and major crime investigations. He was then promoted to Patrol Sergeant and later assigned to Domestic Security. In April 2014, he was promoted to Lieutenant, serving as a Watch Commander and then Specialized Services. In July 2016, he was promoted to Captain of the School Safety Division, where he spearheaded the creation of our current school safety model. From February 2021 through August 2023, Captain Francis was responsible for the newly created Professional Development Division, which comprised the Training and Career Development sections. Chief Francis has served as a SWAT member & team leader and High-Risk Incident Commander.
Additionally, he served as an adjunct professor in Criminal Justice at Seminole State College, teaches nationwide on school safety for the National Tactical Officers Association, and is a school safety consultant with the School Safety Advocacy Council. Chief Francis has contributed as a subject matter expert to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and Florida School Safety Specialist. He has presented before the legislative chambers and houses in Florida, Texas, California, and the state’s Board of Education.
Chief Francis graduated from the FBI National Academy (class 284), attended the Law Enforcement Executive Development Association Command Leadership Institute, the Police Executive Research Forum Senior Management Institute for Police, the Southern Police Institute Command Officer Development Course, and the Leadership Seminole. He is a National Sheriff’s Association School Safety Committee member and a National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI Florida) board member. In addition, he served as a member of several boards and committees, including Crimeline, the School Health Advisory Board, the Youth Commission, the Positive Behavior Pathways Committee, the Opioid Task Force, several state school safety workgroups, and the Domestic Security Task Force.
He earned his Master of Science degree in Criminal Justice (with Honors and the Honors Graduate) from Andrew Jackson University, a Graduate Certificate from the University of Virginia in Criminal Justice Administration, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice and Administration (with Honors) from Columbia College. He is a member of the Delta Epsilon Tau Honor Society.
SESSIONS
Active Threat Preparation & Response
The presentation is a cutting-edge discussion for law enforcement, emergency managers, and school administrators on dealing with active threat preparation and response in a school environment. It will cover active threat planning and response, emergency planning, and crisis management, emphasizing lessons learned from past active threats and adverted incidents.This presentation aims to equip participants with the knowledge and skills to effectively prepare for and respond to active threat scenarios.
Learning Objectives
- Understand the historical aspects of active threat incidents in the United States.
- Identify active threat response, mindset, and best practices for an incident of mass violence.
- Identify how to build robust, holistic, and layered emergency operation and response plans.
- Identify effective and efficient ways to handle critical incidents and overall crisis management.
- Identify best practices and low-cost initiatives to keep your school or workplace safe.
Participant Outcomes
- Enhance situational awareness, communication abilities, and understanding of emergency protocols while promoting mental and physical preparedness.
- Participants will gain insight into post-incident recovery strategies, including collaboration with first responders and accessing support resources.
- Participants will feel empowered to respond confidently and responsibly in high-stress situations involving school-based active threats.
- Participants will have takeaways from the presentation that can be brought back to their schools and implemented.