TAMPA — While climbing the ranks through the Tampa Police Department, incoming Chief Lee Bercaw also pursued higher education.


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He most recently completed a doctorate at Saint Leo University where his research focused on human trafficking.

Connie Rose, the Executive Director of Victims to Survivors U.S., says Tampa ranks high on the list for trafficking cases and that having a top cop who is well informed on the issue is a plus for the City of Tampa.

Victims to Survivors U.S. is a non-profit organization focused on eradicating human trafficking and provides supportive services to survivors. 

Rose can relate to each victim she helps.

“My father was a serial sex offender and was also my trafficker, and then later I learned I wasn’t his only victim of sexual abuse,” she said.

“When I heard I jumped up and down,” she said after learning Bercaw was chosen to be the next police chief.

“I didn’t understand why he wasn’t before our Chief of Police, so I’m like, yes, and the fact that the Tampa Police Department has done an incredible job of listening to victims before they cast judgement," she said.

Bercaw obtained his Bachelors and Masters in Criminology at University of South Florida

He specialized in Homeland Security for his Doctorate from Saint Leo University where his research focused on human trafficking and the perceived phenomenon of a surge during large-scale events.

“We had Super Bowl, Wrestlemania, a large golfing event, the Grand Prix in St. Pete. We had all these large events happen within a three-month period and they [TPD] were on top of it," Rose said.

Rose says Bercaw has always prioritized training for his officers about human trafficking. 

“What we do know is that there is a lot of conversation and traffickers have become brilliant,” she said.

She said Bercaw’s permanent role as chief will showcase not only his street smarts, but book smarts. She said he’s a great role model for his officers and citizens who depend on his leadership for safety. 

“What it says to me about him as an individual and professional is that he needed to know more, he needed to get to the bottom and to the root, and to me that is very important because we are always talking about the root of human trafficking," Rose said.

In 2016, the USF Department of Criminology placed Bercaw on its Wall of Fame as an "Oustanding Criminology Ambassador."