Steve Oelrich has been the Sheriff of Alachua County for over 14 years. First elected in 1992, Oelrich has implemented successful measures to continually reduce crime in his fast growing county. Consequently, crime figures have continued to plummet year after year under Oelrich’s administration of the Sheriff’s Office.

Prior to becoming elected Sheriff, Oelrich was the owner of a Nationwide Insurance Agency for many years. He previously was a Special Agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). With FDLE, Steve was with the Organized Crime Unit in Miami, put away drug and homicide criminals in the Tallahassee region, and investigated the narcotics trade and financial fraud in Gainesville. Oelrich got his start in law enforcement as a Police Officer in St. Petersburg.

Sheriff Oelrich currently sits on the Board of Directors of the National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA), the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), and is the Chairman of the NSA Gift of Life Foundation. The Sheriff is the former President of the Florida Sheriffs Association and has previously sat on the Boards for Boy Scouts of America as the Alachua County District Chairman; Big Brothers/Big Sisters; University of Florida Procurement Organization's Advisory Board; the Juvenile Assessment Center Advisory Board; and the Florida Model Jail Standards Committee. Oelrich is the past President of the Florida Special Agents School and has spoken at the U.S. Drug Enforcement School.

The Sheriff is involved in numerous local charities and organizations. He is currently a member of the Gainesville Rotary Club and the Kairos Prison Ministry. In 2003, Sheriff Oelrich was privileged to be the Honorary Chairman for the Catholic Charities Bishop’s Ball. From 2001-2002, he served as Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk Chairman, and for the past eleven years, Sheriff Oelrich has hosted the annual Nick Oelrich “Gift of Life” Golf Classic, benefiting organ and tissue donation. Sheriff Oelrich is a dedicated member of Trinity United Methodist Church in Gainesville and was previously designated the Chairman of the Staff Parish Committee.

Over the years, Oelrich has trained at the FBI’s Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar and with the U.S. Department of Justice at the Drug Enforcement Investigations School. Steve graduated from the FDLE Chief Executive Seminar, the Florida Criminal Justice Executive Institute and the Pinellas Police Academy.

He holds a B.S. in Criminology from Florida State University. Steve is married to Rose Mary and has three sons, one deceased, Nick. His oldest, Ivan, is a local businessman in Gainesville; his youngest, Kenneth, is in the U.S. Marine Corps.