Arrests at Leon County schools declined sharply during the 2025-26 school year while the use of alternatives to arrest increased significantly, according to the latest annual report from the Leon County Sheriff’s Office School Resource Deputy program.
LCSO reported 60 arrests across the schools it serves in 2025-26, down from 91 the previous year, a decline of approximately 34%. At the same time, deputies recorded 132 civil citations and 761 diversions, compared with 106 civil citations and 276 diversions in 2024-25.
The change was particularly noticeable at Leon County’s five major public high schools. Arrests at Leon, Lincoln, Rickards, Godby and Chiles fell from 65 in 2024-25 to 30 in 2025-26 — a 54% decline.
The latest numbers reverse the trend highlighted by Tallahassee Reports last year, when arrests at the five high schools increased 38%, from 47 in 2023-24 to 65 in 2024-25.
The new data also indicate that the decline in arrests was not simply the result of fewer incidents requiring law-enforcement attention. LCSO recorded 475 criminal complaints in 2025-26, virtually unchanged from 470 the previous year. Instead, the numbers coincide with a substantial increase in the use of diversion programs and civil citations as alternatives to arrest.
Diversions increased from 276 to 761, or approximately 176%, while civil citations increased about 25%, from 106 to 132.
At the high-school level, LCSO reported 30 arrests, 73 civil citations and 154 diversions during 2025-26.
The largest reductions in high-school arrests occurred at Leon and Rickards. Leon High School arrests fell from 36 to eight, a 78% decrease, while Rickards arrests declined from 17 to three, an 82% decrease.
Godby High School moved in the opposite direction, with arrests increasing from five to 11. Lincoln remained unchanged at six arrests, while Chiles increased from one to two.
The numbers suggest a significant change in how student offenses are being handled: criminal complaints remained essentially flat, but substantially fewer incidents resulted in arrests as the Sheriff’s Office increased its use of alternatives to the juvenile justice system.
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