Photos for Headline Surfer / Top: Lily Efird, an investigator with the Office of State Attorney RJ Larizza of the 7th Judicial Circuit, is announced s the Volusia County Officer of the Year for 2022 at the Crime Stoppers of North East Florida during an awards ceremony Thursday, Sept. 15, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Bech, Florida. Left: Ormond Beach City Commissioner Troy Kent, a big supporter of law enforcement, who is running for the District 4 seat on The Volusia County Council in the Nov. 8 elections, is shown at the Crimestoppers banquet with his wife, Heather Kent.
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- During the Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida annual award banquet Thursday night at Daytona International Speedway, State Attorney’s Office Investigator Lily Efird won the 2022 Volusia County Officer of the Year award for her work in juggling close to 300 domestic violence complaints during the past year.
Investigator Efird is assigned to the SAO's Domestic Violence Unit in Volusia County. Last year, she worked on 298 domestic violence-related cases. Despite working on these difficult cases on a daily basis, Efird always maintains her upbeat and comforting personality with everyone she interacts with.
Investigator Efird is assigned to the SAO's Domestic Violence Unit in Volusia County. Last year, she worked on 298 domestic violence-related cases. Despite working on these difficult cases on a daily basis, Efird always maintains her upbeat and comforting personality with everyone she interacts with.
Efird has traveled around Volusia County to teach law enforcement officers about domestic violence and provide tips on how to investigate a prosecutable case. Efird has also been instrumental in redeveloping the Domestic Violence Advisory Committee, a team that brings the professional communities in Volusia and Flagler counties together to discuss the needs of domestic violence agencies and the concerns of victims.
“We are proud of our Investigative team at the State Attorney’s Office,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said in a prepared statement emailed to Headline Surfer. “Efird is a prime example of why.”
About the Byline Writer: Henry Frederick is a member of the working press and publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched in 2008 along the I-4 tourism corridor in greater Daytona Beach to Orlando from Lake Mary, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed 115 award-winning bylines in print & online. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University in 2019. He was a breaking news reporter (metro cops & courts beat) for the Daytona Beach News-Journal for nearly a decade. And Before that worked the same beat for The Journal-News/Gannett Suburban Newspapers in Rockland/Westchester counties, NY, dating back to 1989. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and covering other high-profile cases such as the George Zimmerman murder trial, Frederick has appeared on national crime shows on Discovery ID, Reelz, and the Oxygen Network series "Snapped" for his analysis.